Congress president Sonia Gandhi with former Ranchi MP Subodh Kant Sahay (from left), Seraikela candidate Basco Besra, Jugsalai nominee Dulal Bhuiyan and state unit chief Sukhdeo Bhagat during the rally at Jalla College grounds in Patamda, 35km from Jamshedpur, on Saturday. Picture by Animesh Sengupta

Jamshedpur, Nov. 29: Congress president today went with her party’s trend and singled out the BJP for her diatribe while sparing friend-turned-foe JMM at a rally at Patamda under Jugsalai Assembly constituency, around 35km from Jamshedpur where Narendra Modi addressed a meeting earlier in the day.

Sonia, who was visiting Jharkhand for the second time in this campaign season, reached the venue, Jalla College grounds, two hours late because her chopper had developed a snag at Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi.

“She had to wait for over 90 minutes at Ranchi airport after arriving by a special flight from Delhi. She was scheduled to take off for Patamda at 1.30pm when the pilot of the chopper detected the snag. We arranged a different chopper, which caused the delay,” said former Union minister Subodh Kant Sahay to the 20,000-strong crowd that had become restive by the time the Congress chief arrived around 4.10pm.

Wearing a grey sari, Sonia promptly took to the dais and after a short tribute to the freedom fighters and martyrs of Jharkhand — just like she had done in the previous two rallies in Daltonganj and Gumla before the first phase of polls — she launched an attack on the BJP for the next 15 minutes, warning people to beware of the party’s false promises.

“Achhe din ke lubhaavne vaade ke saath jo log satta mein aye, unki nakaamyabi har kone se nazar aa rahi hain. BJP aap logon ki jamin aur khanij sampada lootne ki koshish kar rahi hain (Those who came in power with the promise of ushering in good days, their failure is visible from each and every corner. BJP is, in fact, trying to loot your mineral resources and land),” she said.

Reminding people of BJP’s promises to bring back black money to the country in 100 days and transfer Rs 15 lakh to every individual’s account, Sonia asked, “Where is the black money? Forget about Rs 15 lakh, not a single paisa has been transferred to anybody’s account.”

Targeting the Narendra Modi-led government’s six-month rule at the Centre, she said it had failed to control inflation or do anything for farmers.

Calling the rival as a pro-capitalist party, Sonia particularly hit out at Modi without naming him when she claimed that tribals had been displaced from their land in Gujarat and now the BJP was keen to privatise coal mines for the benefit of selected capitalists.

She also accused the BJP of giving benefits to the tune of Rs 7,000 crore to an industrial group after coming to power and trying to change the land acquisition act so that tribal land could be taken away by capitalists.

The Congress chief displayed strong knowledge of local issues — thanks to former Jamshedpur MP Ajoy Kumar who shared the dais with her — as she went on to say that despite being in power in Jharkhand for several years, the BJP has not been able to give ownership rights to urban slum dwellers in Jamshedpur.

Sonia’s stand, however, seems to be at odd with her party’s choice of candidates.

The Congress has fielded Dulal Bhuiyan, who looks set to be charge-sheeted by the CBI for owning assets disproportionate to his known sources of income, from Jugsalai.

Jugsalai votes on December 2