Now, Priyanka's juvenile jibe at Modi

AMETHI: Priyanka Gandhi took on Narendra Modi for his 'shehzade' and 'namoona' taunts at her brother Rahul on Tuesday, saying a prime ministerial aspirant must show better grace and dignity. Calling the BJP the same people who ridiculed her father Rajiv Gandhi when he brought the computer and telecom revolutions, Priyanka defended Rahul saying he had inherited their father's vision.

"They call him a shehzada, namoona and compare him to a comic actor but Rahul has thought not just about the immediate future but has a long-term plan for the future of the people," Priyanka said. Then, without naming Modi, the Gandhi heiress said a PM candidate must fight a more dignified electoral battle.

"Why indulge in these juvenile attacks? PM pad ki garima ko toh pehchaaniye" (at least understand the dignity of the chair)," she said chidingly, while stumping for Rahul after campaigning ended in her mother Sonia Gandhi's Rae Bareli constituency.

She also hit out at Aam Aadmi Party saying it had no stakes at the Centre or the state. Asking people to consider carefully what could such a party do for them, she said, "As MP they will get Rs 5 crore as MPLADS. Do you know what that can do? Build five km of road. Rahul Gandhi can do a lot more."

Priyanka, who reached Amethi after Rahul's core campaign team headed by his political secretary Kanishka Singh arrived in the constituency, was low-key on Tuesday. She was more on a reconnoitering mission and held four short public meetings and two 'pad yatras'.

Spending the day touring the Salon assembly segment in Rae Bareli but which comes under Amethi LS, Priyanka's address did not deviate from the speeches she has made over the past few days.

Attacking Modi and the BJP for concentrating power in the hands of one individual, Priyanka said, "Rahulji has never sought power for himself. He always wants to empower the people. He wants to strengthen your hands, to bring power to the people."

She said people must understand the challenges and difficulties the Congress faces in bringing development to Amethi.

"Soniaji talked to Mulayam Singh Yadav for 24-hour power supply to Amethi. But some people in the opposition went to court asking why was Amethi getting VIP status. So the power supply was stopped. We've brought power-line to every village but the supply is in the hands of the state government," Priyanka said. She also attacked BJP's candidate Smriti Irani, calling her an armchair politician, saying the same people who derailed power supply to Amethi were questioning Congress's failure to bring power.