Sonia Gandhi says Modi government ‘drunk on power’

New Delhi: A combative and emotional Sonia Gandhi on Saturday said that the Modi government was “arrogant”, “dramebaaz” and “drunk in power” and that the people of the country have realised that talks of curbing corruption and ensuring inclusive development was only a ruse to grab power.

In her address at the 84th Plenary of the Congress, Mrs Gandhi made a direct appeal to her party workers to fight the challenges posed by those in power.

The UPA chairperson, who handed over the reigns of the party to her son Rahul Gandhi in December, said the Congress was fighting the tyrannical Modi government and the people have begun to realise that the promises made by the BJP in 2014 were hollow. She asked them to be rea-dy for any kind of sacrifice to strengthen the pa-rty and to make it free from discrimination, ven-detta politics and arrogance.

“The slogans of ‘sabka saath, sab ka vikas’ and ‘na khaoonga, na khaane doonga’ are only and only dramebazi (drama) and a trick to grab power,” she said, referring to Mr Modi’s promises of inclusive development and corruption-free governance”.

“Under the leadership of former PM Manmohan Singh, the economy of this country flourished. Our government formed policies which lifted millions of people from poverty. And today, the Modi government is weakening these policies,” she said.

Accusing the Modi government of using all means to stay in power, she said the Congress will never bow before the power of arrogance of this government which has launched vendetta against its opponents.

She claimed that the BJP-RSS was trying to do away with the very identity of the Congress, but do not know how much the people of the country love them. “There is only one priority today and that is how to make Congress party stronger. The Congress is not just a party, but an idea several years ahead of its time.” She also praised the party’s performance in Gujarat Assembly polls and the byelections in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.