Slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Saturday said that he does not talk about the problems of the people but tries to divert the attention of the public by targeting the Gandhi family.

She accused the BJP leadership of making Kashmir a pawn in their political chess.

Priyanka was addressing her first poll rally of the ongoing assembly elections in the border town of Bishnah near here. She was unable to reach Billawar to address another rally as her helicopter could not land there.

She said that “in his 45 minute speech today in Jammu, Modi targeted the Gandhi family for 20 minutes without speaking a word about the problems of the people”.

“I heard Modi ji’s speech, but there was no honesty, truth or seriousness in what he said. Modi ji was counting the works of the Katra railway station in his speech but he did not talk about the problems of the public”, Priyanka said.

She accused the BJP of having taken away the statehood of J&K, people’s rights over the land and employment”. The unemployed youth was turning towards drugs and the BJP does not talk about this serious problem.

Paper leaks in J&K have destroyed the future of many youths as they have turned over age after passing their recruitment tests.

“Jammu and Kashmir is the crown of the country and a land of saints. Nature has given you beauty, resources and great spiritual gurus who preached about religion in the country and abroad. But BJP leaders have made Jammu and Kashmir a pawn in their political chess”, she said.

The Congress leader said that policies in J&K are made to benefit a few outsiders and play politics in the country.

She said that small businesses, which are the backbone of the Indian economy, are suffering due to wrong policies of the Modi government.

Targeting Lieutenant General (LG) Manoj Sinha, she said he is an “outsider” and is working for the outside people instead of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

She said that the tenders for extracting natural resources in the UT are being given to outside people.

The sand which is excavated from J&K is sent outside and the people in UT have to buy it at costly prices.

Expressing her connection with Jammu and Kashmir, Priyanka said “you might not know that 4 to 5 days before the assassination of my grandmother Indira ji, we were sitting at home, I was 12 years old, Rahul was 14 years old. Suddenly grandmother said, I feel like going to Kashmir, I want to see the dry Chinar leaves that fall during autumn. We both children were very happy to go with our grandmother. She brought us to Kashmir. For the first time, she took us to the temple of Kheer Bhawani where we met the family priest. Then we came to Delhi and after 3 or 4 days she was assassinated and became a martyr. And since then, whenever I go to Srinagar, I definitely visit Kheer Bhawani Mata and remember my grandmother”.