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Priyanka chickened out; dynasties don’t matter: Jaitley

Last Updated 24 August 2019, 08:39 IST

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has “chickened out” of contest, BJP said on Thursday hitting out at Congress for its “juvenile politics” of building up “suspense for an eventual thriller” but ultimately fielding a “political lightweight” from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Parliamentary seat Varanasi.

Soon after Congress made it clear that Priyanka Gandhi will not contest the seat and fielded Ajay Rai, senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley launched a scathing attack on the Nehru-Gandhi family. He berated it for living “under an illusion that people will accept it irrespective of credentials”, which he said persuaded the Opposition party to build a climax of Priyanka taking on the Prime Minister and then “suffer the wrath of the anti-climax”.

In a direct attack on Priyanka Gandhi, who said that Modi spends a lot of time attacking her family members, Jaitley said, “Just repeating the same five sentences several times a day and not getting out of the obsession of our family does not impress ‘New India’ any more. The myths of Priyanka Gandhi stand eroded.”

“The build-up of the last two weeks had been that Priyanka Gandhi would be fielded against the Prime Minister. She rejoiced in giving daily bytes to the media that she was ready to take on the Prime Minister. Her brother claimed that the party was building up the suspense for an eventual thriller," Jaitley recalled.

Dynasties don't matter

Rubbing it in further, the Union Minister said that the myth that 'Priyanka will make a difference’ was worth a lakh, which “lost its value today.” The last two months that Priyanka has been in public life has driven home the point that “India has changed, dynasties don’t matter.”

Jaitley also sought to a draw a contrast between the development work done in Raebareli and Amethi seats represented by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for multiple terms, with that of Varanasi, which Modi represented for five years.

Referring to Modi’s well-attended road show in Varanasi, he said if the size of the support expressed at the road show is any indication, the Prime Minister is well on the way of repeating or even improving on the 2014 victory margin.

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(Published 25 April 2019, 15:36 IST)

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