Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president Y.S. Sharmila on April 23 (Tuesday) launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of “spewing venom against the Congress party” at a recent meeting in Rajasthan.
Addressing an election meeting at Bapatla, Ms. Sharmila referred to Mr. Modi’s speech, a part of which has become controversial now. “Mr. Modi says that the Congress will snatch even the mangalasutras of women and redistribute wealth among the Muslim minorities in the country, if voted to power. The BJP is whipping up communal passions to garner votes,” Ms. Sharmila said, adding that “this is precisely why Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy was vehemently opposed to this communal party.”
The State Congress president alleged that scores of women “lost their mangalasutras’ in the Godhra riots and during the Manipur violence when Mr. Modi was in power.
Condemning Mr. Modi’s “hate speech”, she said the BJP should speak about the development works it had carried out during its rule.
Ms. Sharmila accused the Prime Minister of betraying the people of Andhra Pradesh by completely neglecting the State which was in need of development on all fronts after bifurcation. “And yet both Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and leader of the opposition N. Chandrababu Naidu have been extending their full support to the BJP,” she said, adding that the time had come for voters to teach a fitting lesson to the BJP, both at the Centre and in the State.
She said sitting Bapatla MLA Kona Raghupathi of the YSRCP was known locally as a ‘land shark’ and accused him of being involved in sand smuggling.
She alleged that the YSRCP rule was marked by loot and anarchy. “Corruption existed under the TDP rule as well, but the YSRCP leaders have surpassed their predecessors in the scale of graft and violation of rules,” she alleged.
Pointing to the fact that the sitting MLA was given a ticket again this time, she asked people to decide if they wanted to be at the receiving end of the injustice and lawlessness existing in the State for another five years.
“Mr. Jagan has no right to claim that he is the heir of YSR, as he has been doing the exact opposite of what my father had done during his lifetime,” Ms. Sharmila said.
