Congress general secretary in charge of east Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, made her maiden public appearance in Shamli on Wednesday by driving down to the town from Delhi to attend a prayer meeting for CRPF jawan Amit Kumar Kori, who was martyred in the recent Pulwama terror attack.
She was accompanied by brother and Congress president Rahul Gandhi, party general secretary in charge of west UP, Jyotiraditya Scindia and UPCC chief Raj Babbar.
The Gandhi siblings reached Raghunath Mandir, the venue of the prayer meeting, around 2:30 pm where they paid tributes to the slain CRPF jawan for making the extreme sacrifice for the country and met the martyr’s family members and consoled them. Priyanka spoke with the women, children and others during her short visit.
Both Gandhi siblings in their brief addresses referred to the martyrdom of their grandmother Indira Gandhi and father Rajiv Gandhi saying that they understood and shared the grief of the bereaved family as they had undergone similar trauma.
“We are with the martyr’s family in their hour of grief. You are not alone. The entire nation is sad and the people are with you. I have gone through this sad experience so I can understand your agony,” Priyanka said in her address.
She took the phone numbers of the female members of the Kori family and assured them of all possible assistance by the party.
Amid chants of ‘Amit Kori amar rahe’ and ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, Rahul Gandhi said, “We are with you and share your grief and will never forget the supreme sacrifice of Amit Kori. My father also met the same fate. I am here to sit with you for some time, but I want to assure the CRPF jawans and their kin that no power on earth can do any evil to India.’’
“The entire country wants to thank you for the sacrifice your son has made. I and my sister want to say that we are with you in your hour of grief,” Rahul added.
The Congress chief, however, refused to speak to the media, saying that he had come to express condolence to the martyr’s family.
Rahul and Priyanka then visited the house of Pradeep Kumar, another martyr who lost his life in the Pulwama terror attack.
On their way to Shamli, the high profile Congress convoy stopped at a dhaba in Kairana for a cuppa. Their visit surprised everyone as the visit was kept under wraps till the last moment.
At the dhaba, Priyanka, showing her real connect with the people, spoke to the women and children and allowed them to click selfies with her. The Congress team had ‘pakoras’ and ‘chai’ at the dhaba and also offered snacks to the women and children who thronged the place.
