Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi on Tuesday lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “spreading fear” among people by telling them that the Congress would not spare the mangalsutra of Hindu women if it comes to power.

Addressing a public meeting in the Bengaluru South Lok Sabha constituency late on Tuesday, Priyanka reminded Modi and the voters that her grandmother, Indira Gandhi, had donated all her jewellery to the National Defence Fund during India’s war with China in 1962. She also said that her mother, Sonia Gandhi, had sacrificed her mangalsutra for the nation when her husband was assassinated.

“My grandmother helped the army by donating all her gold. My mother’s mangalsutra was sacrificed for the nation. But the reality is that these people (the BJP) don’t understand the struggle of women,” she said.

“Have you ever seen the Congress snatching anyone’s mangalsutra in the years we were in power?” Priyanka asked the gathering comprising mostly women.

“Modiji would not have spoken such words had he understood the importance of the mangalsutra,” Priyanka added.

“When farmers are in debt, their women go to the extent of pawning their mangalsutras (to help their husbands). When children fall ill, the women (of the family) pawn their jewellery. These people (the BJP) don’t understand these things,” she said.

Priyanka then asked where Modi was when women struggled after he demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes and the men had to fend for themselves.

“Where was Modiji when our women had to deal with demonetised currencies? Where was Modi when migrant workers had to walk back home after the announcement of an abrupt lockdown that brought transportation to a halt? Did Modi think about the mangalsutras of the 600 farmers who were martyred during the farmers’ agitation?” she asked.

“He didn’t think about the mangalsutra of the wife of a Manipuri jawan who was stripped naked. Today, he’s talking about women only for votes. He should be ashamed for trying to scare you to win some votes,” Priyanka said.

“If he had some respect for the mangalsutras of women, he would have given jobs to their children and would have controlled the price rise and worked more for women’s empowerment,” she said, reminding the gathering that they should be weighing the real issues such as inflation, unemployment and hatred before casting their votes.

“How many more elections would you fight based on the Hindu-Muslim narrative? They (the BJP) don’t want you to consider price rise and other real issues. You must decide on what kind of politics and governance you want. Do you want a party that engages in drama and lies or the one that stands for truth?” she asked.

Priyanka challenged Modi to stand in front of the people and address price rise, unemployment, lack of academic institutions and inadequate healthcare facilities for the common people.

“Stand here and explain what you did in the last 10 years,” she challenged Modi, before urging the people to “wake up and seek your rights”.