Wrestlers, soldiers betrayed: Priyanka slams BJP in Haryana

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi today claimed that the BJP government during its rule in Haryana betrayed wrestlers, farmers and soldiers, forcing them to wage a struggle against the regime.

Addressing rallies in favour of wrestler-turned-Congress candidate from Julana Vinesh Phogat and her loyalist Pardeep Narwal (Bawani Khera), Priyanka struck an emotional chord with people.

Claiming that farmers, soldiers and wrestlers had launched a struggle against the injustice done to them by the saffron party, Priyanka urged the people to vote out the BJP government.

Priyanka said Vinesh was denied an Olympic medal despite reaching the finals. “Why was her trust broken in a foreign land? Because she had raised her voice and launched a fight against injustice to her and her fellow wrestlers,” she said, referring to the wrestlers’ agitation in Delhi against former Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who faced allegations of molestation and harassment.

“But, Haryana has the temperament, culture and tradition to raise voice against any injustice,” she said. “Kurukshetra in the state is the place where a message was given that whenever there is injustice, the God will appear and fight it. Today there is a fight against the wicked,” she said.

She alleged that a similar betrayal occurred at all levels — be it farmers, soldiers, wrestlers, youth and women. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi knew that by enacting farm laws, he was going to favour big corporates, but he kept quiet,” she said, while talking about the three controversial laws that were later revoked.

Claiming that the Congress was going to sweep the elections in Haryana, she said the BJP government had miserably failed on every front.

Raising the family ID issue and Agnipath scheme, the Congress leader listed several scams that allegedly occurred under the BJP government’s rule.

Congress MP Deepender Hooda said when the farmers were ruthlessly crushed under vehicles, Priyanka was the first one who went to Lakhimpur Kheri. “When women wrestlers were being dragged on streets of Delhi, she reached the Jantar Mantar first. When the Constitution was under threat, Priyanka stood firmly at the forefront,” he said.