Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with BJP booth workers from Baramati, Gadchiroli, Hingoli, Nanded and Nandurbar in Maharashtra. (Source: Screengrab/Narendra Modi Twitter) Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with BJP booth workers from Baramati, Gadchiroli, Hingoli, Nanded and Nandurbar in Maharashtra. (Source: Screengrab/Narendra Modi Twitter)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday criticised the Congress over dynastic politics, hours after Gandhi-Nehru scion Priyanka Gandhi made her foray into politics.

Interacting with BJP booth workers in Maharashtra, the prime minister said when it comes to BJP, decisions are not taken on the basis of what one person or one family thinks.

Asserting that the BJP is driven by democratic principles, PM Modi said, “Democracy runs in the veins of BJP which is why people of the country feel closer to the party.”

Having a great interaction with Karyakartas from Maharashtra. Watch. https://t.co/GOLEXovUEJ — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 23, 2019

In an apparent reference to Priyanka Gandhi, Modi said, “In our party, decisions are taken on the basis of what party workers want.”

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also targeted the Congress for appointing Priyanka as AICC general secretary for UP East, saying it was a step that took forward dynastic politics. “It was an appointment based on family,” which showed that dynastic politics has gone two steps forward,” she told reporters here when asked about the matter.

UP BJP dismissed her appointment as a reflection of the party’s dependence on a single family and said she did not pose even a “one percent challenge”. UP minister Siddharth Nath Singh termed the rise of Priyanka as “fall” of Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s.

“Congratulations to Priyanka Gandhi on her appointment and assignment. However, it is also an admission that in the Gandhi family, the dependence on Rahul is over,” he added.

Dear @narendramodi Ji, the next time you utter dynastic politics, look deep within. Stop fooling the people of India. You can’t. Because they are smarter than you. pic.twitter.com/uhhCFV5pyh — Sanjay Jha (@JhaSanjay) January 23, 2019

Ending years of speculations, Priyanka formally entered politics with the Congress appointing her general secretary for Uttar Pradesh East. With her induction, the grand old party aims to go full throttle in the state ahead of the general elections.

Eastern UP has 40 Lok Sabha constituencies. These include PM Modi’s constituency Varanasi, and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s home turf Gorakhpur.

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