Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday campaigned for party candidates in Punjab and said like the BJP earlier propagated Gujarat model’, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal was publicising his ‘Delhi model’, which she said was also a “failure” .
Riding a tractor with Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi in Rupnagar district as part of her ‘Jansampark Abhiyan’, Gandhi, who later addressed a gathering, also dubbed the BJP and AAP “two sides of the same coin”.
In the evening, she took out a roadshow in Amritsar. Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu, who is contesting from Amritsar East, accompanied her in an SUV.
She added that both AAP and BJP are promising a new brand of politics to befool the public.
In an apparent swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was donning a turban during his Jalandhar rally on Monday, the Congress general secretary said, “Make them understand that one does not become a Sardar by wearing a ‘banwati pagri’ (make-do turban) on stage”.
“Make them understand who the real Sardars are, tell them the hard work and courage behind this turban, make them understand that Punjab belongs to Punjabis,” she said in an apparent reference to Modi and Kejriwal.
Claiming that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) “emerged” from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), she said it has an ideology similar to that of the BJP.
The Congress leader also accused the AAP, the main opposition party in Punjab, of doing nothing in Delhi and said its government has been a “failure”.
People must be wary of the Delhi model of governance being touted by the AAP as even the BJP came to power at the Centre showcasing its Gujarat model in 2014, but the reality is now before everyone, she said.
People have seen the reality of the Gujarat model. Nobody got jobs, nobody’s business flourished, and now AAP is showcasing their Delhi model, she said.
“In Delhi, there is nothing in the name of improvement in health and educational institutions or employment. Understand these things,” she told the audience.
With Channi standing by her side, Gandhi told the people of Punjab, “form your own government here. AAP will not give you any new politics nor Narendra Modi. Over here, new politics is here,” she said, pointing to the chief minister.
Hailing the Congress-led government in the state, Gandhi said Channi took many courageous decisions during his short stint of 111 days “for the people of Punjab”.
“Those who come from outside and talk to you about Punjabiyat, teach them what Punjabiyat means,” she said.
Seeking to strike a chord with the locals, Gandhi also mentioned that she was married into a Punjabi family.
Punjab goes to polls on February 20.