‘Remember 2004’: Sonia Gandhi says Modi is not invincible

India वोट Kar | April 11, 2019

Remember 2004. Vajpayeeji was invulnerable, yet we won': Sonia to BJP

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi said on Thursday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was by no means invincible, pointing to the 2004 general election. She spoke to reporters after a roadshow and after filing her nomination from the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat.

Sonia Gandhi’s remark

Asked whether Modi was unbeatable, she replied: “Remember 2004. Vajpayee ji was powerful, however, we won.” She was referring to the 2004 election, in which the BJP-led ruling alliance campaigned on its ‘Shining India’ slogan and the Congress-led alliance defeated the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

Rahul Gandhi on Rafale

Congress president Rahul Gandhi said many people in Indian history had been arrogant enough to think they were bigger than the people of India, and claimed Modi had done nothing for the public in the last five years. Responding to Modi’s corruption allegations against him, he said he was ready to face any action, but wanted the prime minister to answer some questions first. He asked why Anil Ambani, who he said had never built an aircraft, was given the Rafale contract, and why a contract worth Rs 30,000 crore went to him. He said he was ready for an open debate with Modi on corruption.

The Rae Bareli contest

Before filing her papers, Sonia Gandhi followed a family custom going back 50 years and offered prayers at the home of the late Congress leader Gaya Prasad Shukla. Rae Bareli votes in the fifth phase on 6 May, and she faces Dinesh Pratap Singh, who recently left the Congress to join the BJP.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wrote on Twitter, in Hindi, that every politician should learn from her mother’s commitment to the people of Rae Bareli, adding that politics means public service and devotion. She shared a photograph of Sonia Gandhi filing her nomination.