Belagavi (Karnataka), Jan 21 (PTI) Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said Lok Sabha MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra represented ‘Stree Shakti’ and likened her with historic freedom fighters Kittur Rani Chennamma and ‘Jhansi Ki Rani’ Lakshmi Bai.
Kharge also hailed Rahul Gandhi as a symbol of ‘Yuva Shakti’.
Addressing the ‘Gandhi Bharat’ event here, Kharge said the Congress has organised the event to commemorate the centenary of the lone Congress session held in Belagavi, which Mahatma Gandhi had chaired as the grand old party’s president way back in 1924.
“If there is Kittur Chennamma it’s Priyanka Gandhi. If there is ‘Jhansi Ki Rani’, it’s Priyanka Gandhi. She is very strong. She stabilised the family after the assassination of her father Rajiv Gandhi. “We have Stree Shakti (in Priyanka Gandhi) and Yuva Shakti, which is Rahul Gandhi,” he said.
“Belagavi is the birthplace of Kittur Rani Chennamma. She is a great woman who fought for the country’s esteem and its people. Similarly, if there is a powerful woman who is fighting against the BJP and RSS it is Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. She has that courage.”
Kharge remarked that both Rahul and Priyanka have earned a distinct reputation in the country, one that is unparalleled.
“We have Stree Shakti (Priyanka Gandhi) and we have Yuva Shakti in Rahul Gandhi. We all are with you.,” he said.
Themed as ‘Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan’, the event targetted Union Home Minister Amit Shah for “insulting” the Indian Constitution and its architect B R Ambedkar in the Rajya Sabha recently.
The Union Minister, however, has dismissed the allegation as a “lie”.
Kharge also charged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and their supporters of “misusing” their power to attack the Gandhi family, emphasising that they remain unmatched to the opposition.
Dwelling on the 1924 Congress session, Kharge recalled Mahatma Gandhi’s famous statement delivered in Belagavi, ‘Main Jinda Rahna chahta hoon Bharat ke liye, Marna chahta hoon Bharat ke liye (I want to live for India and die for India).
He claimed that Nathuram Godse, who assassinated Gandhi, was the disciple of Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah show respect to Gandhi, they actually worship Godse, he added.
The Congress veteran also accused the BJP of “playing a game” by alleging differences between Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Gandhi and Ambedkar.
Countering the BJP’s claim that Congress insulted Ambedkar by ensuring his defeat, Kharge showed a letter to the public, which he claimed was written by Ambedkar to his friend Kamalakant where he mentioned that Savarkar and S A Dange were responsible for his defeat.
“The BJP today keeps chanting Ambedkar’s name and bows before the Constitution. What drama is this? If there is anyone who burnt the Constitution, Ambedkar and Nehru’s statues, it’s BJP and the RSS and Hindu Mahasabha,” Kharge said.
The Congress chief said it was the grand old party which helped Ambedkar win the election.
He also alleged that the RSS is “troubling” Dalits and backward communities in the universities while there are recruitment for Dalits in the government sector.
On the surveys of mosques happening in the country, Kharge said, “BJP and RSS are tracing temples beneath mosques. Why are they doing this? They will repent because this is dangerous for the unity of the country.”
The veteran Congress leader took a dig at Modi for his purported statement that people came to know about Mahatma Gandhi after watching Richard Attenborough’s movie titled “Gandhi”.
