Patna: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led NDA government in Bihar, accusing it of presiding over mass unemployment, migration and neglect of women’s rights.
Speaking at her first public rally in Bihar on Friday, during the party’s Har Ghar Adhikar Yatra in Motihari, the Congress general secretary said the ruling coalition had “stolen votes” for two decades but failed to bring development.
“In 70 years, the Congress strengthened your rights,” she told the crowd at Gandhi Maidan. “When we were in power, people from here became IAS and IFS officers. Today, Bihar is sending only labourers. It is time for change.”
Gandhi criticised both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, accusing them of working for industrialists rather than the people. She named tycoons Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani as PM Modi’s “friends”, questioning: “They walk hand in hand with him – but have they ever held your hand?”
She also drew attention to the long history of migration from Bihar, recounting that construction workers she met in Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Kerala were all from the state. “There is no employment here. The entire population is migrating,” she said.
Gandhi accused the NDA of offering cash to women in the run-up to elections rather than delivering long-term respect and security. “True respect will come when women receive fair wages, when their daughters feel safe at school,” she said.
She urged voters to “remove this incompetent BJP government” and back the opposition Grand Alliance. “You should be able to say with pride: I am a Bihari. I should get a job in Bihar. My family should not have to leave,” she added.
Key themes from Gandhi’s Bihar visit
- Education and industry under Congress: Gandhi said Congress governments had built educational institutions, industries, dams and roads, while NDA rule had failed to create jobs.
- Migration crisis: She highlighted the large-scale migration of Biharis for work, linking it to a lack of employment at home.
- Women’s dignity: Gandhi said respect for women would come not from cash handouts but from safety, fair pay and opportunity.
- NDA’s two-decade rule: She accused the ruling alliance of making empty promises ahead of every election without delivering results.
- Call for change: Gandhi urged voters to support the opposition Grand Alliance to bring jobs and dignity back to the state.
Outreach to women in Patna
Before the rally, Gandhi held an hour-long interaction with about 2,000 women at Patna’s Sadakat Ashram under the programme Shakti Adhikar (Women’s Empowerment). Women from diverse backgrounds – including domestic workers, ASHA and Anganwadi workers, self-help groups, and professionals – spoke of unemployment, poverty and insecurity.
Gandhi promised a monthly allowance of Rs 2,500 for needy women if Congress came to power, free healthcare up to Rs 25 lakh on the lines of Rajasthan’s insurance scheme, and land rights in women’s names for the landless.
“You don’t recognise your own power, but political parties do,” she told the gathering. “That’s why they are giving you money before elections. They know they cannot form a government without you.”
The event ended with Gandhi taking selfies with the women and singing Hum Honge Kamyab with the crowd.
