LUCKNOW: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra upped the ante against BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, repeating the ‘revenge raj’ jibe on Monday, prompting the BJP to hit back.
“I think it is happening for the first time that a CM has made a statement like ‘badla liya jayega (we will take revenge)’. And this is what is happening in the state, as is conspicuous from police excesses,” Priyanka said.
Launching a direct attack on Yogi Adityanath over his saffron robes, Priyanka said he wasn’t living up to the essence of Hinduism which had no place for violence or revenge.
The Congress general secretary lashed out at the government for arresting people without any inquiry. The administration should identify the vandals before taking action, she said.
She also demanded that a probe by a sitting or retired high court judge should be ordered into the violence during anti-CAA protests and police action.
In a strong rebuttal to Priyanka, UP’s Deputy CM Dinesh Sharma asked her to desist from making provocative statements. Refuting the charge that Yogi called for taking ‘revenge’, Sharma said the CM “was only talking about recovering damages from rioters for destroying public property”.
Reacting sharply to Priyanka’s personal attack on Yogi, Sharma said the Congress leader, who was ‘known for flouting rules and breaching norms’, had insulted both Hindus and Hinduism by passing “incendiary remarks” on the CM’s saffron robe.
“We do not need to take lessons in Hinduism from Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who hardly understands the ethos of Hinduism, probably owing to her non-Indian nurturing and lack of Indian values,” said Sharma.