Speaking at a rally in Haryana on Tuesday, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi by comparing him with Mahabharata arrogant character Duryodhana and adding that it is his “Duryodhan like ego that will bring about his downfall in Lok Sabha election 2019.”
Duryodhana, son of blind king Dhritarashtra and eldest of the Kaurava brothers, is characterised by jealousy, ego and envy and conspires to send the Pandavas into exile. The plot is widely believed to have led to the “great war”.
While speaking to the crowd at Ambala, Gandhi said, “They (the BJP leaders) try to divert the country’s attention in order to hide their failures. This country has never forgiven ‘ahankaar’ (ego). History is proof of this, the Mahabharat is also proof of this,” she said.
Not limiting here, Gandhi further cited a few lines from ‘Krishna Ki Chetawani’ (The Warning of Krishna), a poem by Ramdhari Singh Dinkar which says, “When Lord Krishna tried to explain reality to him (Duryodhana), he tried to capture Krishna as well.” The lines recited go on to say that a person’s intelligence is the first thing to die when he/she is about to be destroyed.
She had also fired salvos directed at PM Modi for calling her father – former PM Rajiv Gandhi – ‘corrupt No. 1′.
However, the BJP swiftly countered Priyanka with party chief Amit Shah saying that the Congress’ frustration is for all to see.
“Priyanka just called PM Modi ‘Duryodhana’. Priyanka ji, this is democracy, nobody becomes ‘Duryodhana’ just because you called them so. The result of Lok Sabha election on May 23 will teach a lesson to Priyanka. No amount of insults from Congress can change the mind of Indian voters,” he said at a rally in West Bengal’s Bishnupur.
