Sonia Gandhi asks 'power hungry' BJP not to underestimate the Congress

Displaying a major show of strength against the Centre, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on 6 May waged a war against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying she will never let the NDA government succeed in 'murdering democracy' in the nation.

Gandhi, who was addressing her party workers ahead of the 'Loktantra Bachaao Yatra', also accused the ruling dispensation of firing false charges against the Congress to cover Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government's two years of failure.

"We want to make it clear that they can keep trying to destroy democracy, but we will never let their dangerous intentions succeed. They can keep taking steps to defame us, but we won't break. Life has taught me to fight on. We have faced many challenges. They don't know the stuff we are made of," she said.

Asserting that the Congress was well versed in fighting forces hell bent on destroying harmony in the nation, Gandhi said the grand old party came from a history of people, who sacrificed their lives to defend the very roots of humanity.

"In the last 60-70 years, the Congress has developed pillars of democracy in this nation and has also taken steps for development of the lives of the poor, farmers and women, but the Modi Government has begun destroying everything. Every state under the BJP government is in distress. Farmers have been reduced to committing suicide, but the Modi government has turned a blind eye," she added.

Accusing the BJP of being on a 'power-hungry' mania, Gandhi said that the Centre had toppled the Congress-led governments in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand by the sheer power of money, corruption and false promises.

"Students are being attacked. People are being branded as anti-national in the blink of an eye and if anyone does not agree with their (BJP) views then they do not even stand a chance. They need to realise that it won't take too long for the nation to punish if they cross limits," she said.

Sharpening her attack on the Centre, Gandhi emphasised on the slew of 'false' charges and allegations by the BJP against Congress leaders in an attempt to distract people from the government's failures in the last two years and indulging in character assassination.

The Congress president also used the occasion to issue a warning to those in power, saying the BJP must not make the mistake of thinking that the Opposition is weak.

"We will never bow before them and in the upcoming days we will put up a bigger fight against them. I want to appeal to my fellow Congress colleagues and to everyone in the nation to go to every corner of the country and expose the true face of Modi. We will not let them destroy democratic legacies," Sonia said.

Following her address, she led the march flanked by former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi. They were detained by the police, but released soon.

The Congress exhibited its full might as almost all major leaders were seen displaying the joint strength of the grand old party against the Centre.

Earlier, the BJP had in a counter move staged a protest against Congress' corruption in Parliament premises.

The 'Loktantra Bachaao Yatra' has been organised amid a face-off between the Opposition and the BJP led-NDA Government at the Centre over various issues, including the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal and the Uttarakhand political crisis.

-ANI