IANS/Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh

 

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, daughter of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, yesterday said allegations about her husband were part of a concerted political attack on her family.

Speaking at an election rally in Rae Bareli where she is campaigning for her mother, Priyanka said she was hurt by such allegations and "feel strongly against such vicious attack."

“It is election time and people are saying so many things," she said.

"There is a change in the way politics is being done in the current elections. My husband and the entire Gandhi family is being maligned. My family is being attacked for the past two years. My husband has been used for the political attacks. The Congress will fight back with determination."

She said she was saddened by the way politics was being done in the country.

"India is a liberal nation. I am deeply saddened by the way harsh language is used to attack the political leaders during the political campaigns," she said.

"I have learned from Indira Gandhi that strong determination acts as a shield. The Congress party will fight back with determination," she added.

She said she found great strength in the words of her grandmother and late prime minister Indira Gandhi who always felt that truth was undefeatable and only emerged stronger by every attack.

She said the language and allegations being hurled at her family and husband had hurt her immensely.

Asking people to vote for the welfare of the country and future of their children, Priyanka said the future of the country lay in secularism and communal harmony as espoused by icons like Mahatma Gandhi.

"I feel uncomfortable seeking votes for my mother because you all have given her so much, have embraced her though she was not born in India," she said, and added that the idea of such an India which accepts every religion, caste and creed is something which she finds close to her heart while campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections.

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