For the second consecutive day, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Wednesday targeted the BJP and its leader Narendra Modi and raked up the snoopgate controversy, saying the Gujarat chief minister "was listening to conversations of women".
Addressing election rallies in Rae Bareli, Priyanka also said politics is about dealing with the problems of the people and "not just making personal attacks".
Priyanka's remarks on Modi came on a day BJP senior leader Arun Jaitley said he agreed with her that personal attacks cause pain but that she should remember "charity begins at home".
The Congress came out firmly in support of Priyanka's remarks concerning the Bharatiya Janata Party, with its spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi saying the party was "110 percent" with her.
Targeting Modi, who is a trenchant critic of the Congress, Priyanka said the man who was calling for protection of women was himself spying on a woman.
"He was listening to conversations of women. If you want to empower women, then why listen to their private conversations,? Priyanka said.
The opposition parties allege that the Modi government ordered tracking of the movements of a young woman and spied on her in Gujarat.
Seeking votes for her mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka urged the people not to be swayed by false propaganda unleashed by the opposition and said voters should keep their welfare and the progress of nation in mind while voting.
"A lot is being said in the poll season and you must be watching on television the type of 'tu-tu-main-main' (verbal spat) going on between political leaders," she told a gathering in Rae Bareli.
At times, television news can be disgusting, Priyanka said while pointing out that she often asked her children not to watch television.
Realizing that a large number of television crews were present at the meeting, she immediately apologised for the taunt but added that somehow this was the reality.
Priyanka Tuesday said political leaders were making personal attacks and maligning her husband Robert Vadra and the entire Gandhi family.
Responding to Priyanka's remarks, Jaitley said in an article that he agreed with her that personal attacks cause pain to people and should be avoided, but noted that "charity begins at home" and the Congress should not have made similar attacks on Modi.
Jaitley said Robert Vadra was in a controversy over the nature of his investments and, prima facie, it was a case of "investments without original capital and an unprecedented return".
"I wish her political friends should also realise this. If they had realised it, her brother (Rahul) would not have made Narendra Modi's so-called child marriage into a public issue... The Congress would not have made security to a lady in Ahmedabad into a snoopgate issue," Jaitley said.
The BJP leader also said the Congress should also not have attacked Modi on the alleged snooping of a young woman in Gujarat and over the 2002 riots.
The BJP said the Congress leadership was confused about its election campaign.
"There was an emotional appeal from Priyanka Vadra that personal matters should not be raised. Today, she also raised personal matters... why can't Congress make up its mind?" party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said.
Singhvi, however, firmly backed Priyanka on her remarks concerning the BJP. "Vadra is being targeted by the cheap tactics and dirty tricks department of the opposition and being unnecessarily dragged into the electoral debate," he contended.
Congress leaders privately said the party might be losing the battle of perception over Vadra in the wake of the BJP stepping up its offensive on his alleged land deals. A senior leader of the Congress party, wishing not to be identified, admitted Wednesday the Vadra issue adds to the "scam-tainted" image of the party.
