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Latur (Maharashtra), April 27 (IANS) In her whirlwind maiden election tour in Latur (SC) Lok Sabha constituency, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra managed to endear herself to the women and menfolk at a massive poll rally in Udgir, here on Saturday.
Starting her speech with a familiar "Ram, Ram Laturkar" and invoking Goddess Tulja Bhavani and other idols of Maharashtra, she expressed gratitude to the gathering for awaiting her patiently braving the immense heat of Latur, which touched 40 degrees Celsius on Saturday.
Barely after she started her speech, there was a clamour from her right side in the audience, mostly males, who could not get a proper view of her on the stage, and wanted her to change 'sides'.
"What has happened… you want me to go there? But all my sisters are sitting here, on this (left) side. Then, they will not be able to see me," Priyanka Gandhi said with a smile.
Then she turned to the womenfolk on her left and asked: "Can I go there?" and after getting their signal of approval, and a discreet nod from her security, walked along the length of the stage to the other (right) side, as the men cheered and clapped in joy.
In her speech of nearly 40 minutes, she paid generous tributes to the resilience of the womenfolk, whether housewives or farmers or working women, who struggle day and night for the family, look after the children and the family.
"Even when someone in the family falls ill, it's the woman who cares for them. They feed the entire family, the elders, the husband and the children, and are usually the last ones to eat. This is how the women face their burdens, silently sacrificing themselves for their families," Priyanka Gandhi said while addressing her first poll rally in Maharashtra in 10 years.
She empathised and appreciated how the womenfolk struggle to make ends meet in the skyrocketing inflation, paying Rs 1,100-1,200 for a gas cylinder which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government slashed to around Rs 400 just before elections, and said: "Why wasn't it done before?"
"The poor women toil for years as labourers or other chores, at workplaces, to give good education to their children for their better future. See the prices of petrol, diesel, prices of essential items, gold prices, no money to buy clothes for their families during festivals. Can all this be achieved by just 5 kg rations?" she questioned the people, who responded in the negative.
She asked the women and men whether the BJP government gave the promised 2 crore jobs, Rs 15 lakh in everyone's bank accounts, controlling inflation, and other things, how the womenfolk were "tortured" in some places.
Priyanka Gandhi said that though the country and the people were facing a "tough time", they should now vote for change, reject the BJP-led government, and ensure a better future for all people, the nation, democracy and the Constitution.
(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in)
--IANS
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