Sonia Gandhi tears into Narendra Modi government, calls it 'arrogant and power hungry'

She accused the government of selling a gimmick to people in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Sonia Gandhi predicted the Congress would return to power in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. (Picture: PTI)

NEW DELHI: Former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi launched a scathing attack on the NDA government, saying its 'arrogant and power hungry' ways would pave the way for the Congress to return to power across the country.

Speaking at the 84th plenary session of her party, Sonia accused the BJP of going out of its way to destroy the Congress Party. She also said the government had sold a gimmick to the people. "In 2014, when the Modi government came to power, they said, 'sabka saath, sabka vikaas' and 'na khaoonga, na khane doonga'. It was all just dramebaazi to win votes," she said, to wide applause from her partymen.

She said the Narendra Modi government's behaviour since 2014 would help bring the Congress back to power. "The Modi government has behaved autocratically, it has shown little respect for Parliament and the Constitution, it has filed fake cases against opposition leaders, and has harassed the media. In fighting all of this, the Congress is at the forefront. We are exposing Modi and his frauds with proof," she thundered to further applause.

She also attacked the Modi government for allegedly weakening programmes and schemes that the previous Congress-led UPA governments had begun. "Under Manmohan Singh's governance, economic growth was at its highest. Today, I am saddened to see that the government is weakening and ignoring the schemes and programs we implemented," she said.

Sonia talk of the Congress's return went hand in hand with a resolution the party adopted earlier in the day, that it should adopt a 'pragmatic approach' and cooperate with other parties to ensure the BJP's defeat in the 2019 election. The resolution comes just days after the results of the bye-elections to two Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, which saw the former arch rivals - SP and BSP - come together in a bid to defeat the BJP. The Congress had not come on board with this alignment.