Jaitley says Priyanka’s vote-cutting remark admits Congress is now a fringe party

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Thursday that Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s comment about her party cutting into BJP votes in Uttar Pradesh amounted to a “confessional statement” that the Congress had become a fringe organisation.

Priyanka’s remark

Speaking in Amethi on Wednesday, Priyanka had said the Congress would not hurt the SP-BSP alliance in the state because it had picked candidates who would either win or draw votes away from the BJP. At a press conference, Jaitley seized on this, saying the grand old party of Indian politics had been reduced to the margins.

He argued that the Congress had won 300-400 seats under Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, 125-150 in Rajiv Gandhi’s time and now managed 40-70, with 2009, when it crossed 200 seats, as the exception.

‘Chunavi Hindus’

Jaitley mocked top Congress leaders as “chunavi Hindus”, or election-time Hindus, for visiting temples during the campaign, saying they had not done so in 2004, 2009 or 2014. He said the Congress once called the VHP slogan about being proud Hindus communal. He made the same jibe when asked about Digvijaya Singh, who is contesting from Bhopal, inviting a group of sadhus to the city.

He also took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi, apparently over his 2016 visit to Jawaharlal Nehru University in solidarity with students accused of raising anti-national slogans.

Model code and nationalism

Jaitley dismissed as “junk” the Congress claim that the model code had become a “Modi Code of Conduct”, saying the opposition had made a habit of attacking institutions. He said the code was subject to free speech, and that asking voters to remember soldiers’ sacrifice was not a violation because Modi had not sought votes for a party or candidate in doing so. He said it would be a shame if the opposition believed nationalism should not be a poll issue.

Asked about AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal’s reported advice that voters accept money from rivals but vote for his party, Jaitley said some leaders did not merit a reply.

See also: Bharatiya Janata Party, Indian National Congress.

Originally published on 3 May 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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