Calling BJP's Amethi candidate Smriti Irani as an "outsider", Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday accused her of distributing shoes with an intent to insult Rahul Gandhi and said the people in the Congress chief's Lok Sabha constituency are not beggars.
While interacting with the voters in Amethi, Priyanka who is the Congress general secretary in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh said that the people of Amethi and Rae Bareli have self-respect and they do not beg from anyone. "...if anyone has to beg, it is them (BJP), who will beg for your votes," Priyanka told the voters in the presence of reporters at a "nukkad sabha". "The people of Amethi are very sensible. You all know who was going to open a food park in Amethi and the fact that it has not been opened till now. The food park would have benefitted five lakh farmers in Amethi and Rae Bareli," she said.
Meanwhile, reacting to the Congress leader's remarks, Irani, a former actor said, "I have been an actor and it would be better if Priyanka Gandhi does not stage a drama."
Irani had lost to Rahul Gandhi in Amethi in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and is now again contesting from Amethi.
Talking about the condition of the people of Amethi, she claimed that there were those who could not even afford a pair of shoes. "If she (Priyanka) has even an iota of shame and humanity, she should visit Hariharpur and see the truth for herself. But for going to Hariharpur, she has to first ask the missing MP (Rahul) about its location," she added.
Hitting out at the BJP, Priyanka reminded the voters about the time when her father, Rajiv Gandhi was the PM and had gone to various villages of Amethi and how there was none whom he had not met. She then questioned the situation in Varanasi of how PM Narendra Modi didn't visit a single village in his constituency in the last five years to inquire about the well-being of the people. She then spoke about the UP CM, Yogi Adityanath saying who gets the hands and faces of Dalits washed before entering a village inhabited by poor people.
She said none of the youngsters she met during poll campaigning told her that they got employment in the last five years.
She then spoke about Modi's 2014 poll promise of generating two crore employment opportunities every year and how instead 50 lakh people lost their jobs in BJP's rule.
Lastly, while urging the voters to vote for the Congress in the current Lok Sabha polls, she said, "The BJP has not only betrayed the people of Amethi, it has betrayed the entire country. Congress workers should visit each and every household and establish contact with every person."