Lucknow, Feb 18 (Agency) Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Friday said the political parties in the state do not want the people of Uttar Pradesh to become ‘Atma Nirbhar’, instead they want the people to remain ‘Nirbhar’ (reliant) on them and only Congress would genuinely work for them. Addressing a virtual rally, Priyanka said, “Whether it’s Bharatiya Janata Party, Samajwadi Party or Bahujan Samaj Party, they do not want to make you all self-reliant, they want you to remain reliant on them. Because they know that if people will become self-reliant and get empowered, they will raise questions, which none of these parties want. “Only Congress genuinely wants to work for the people and in fact we had been working for their cause for the last three years. My party and our workers have raised voices against atrocities committed against women, Dalits and backwards in Uttar Pradesh,” he said.
Questioning the free ration scheme being run by the BJP government, Priyanka said, “Look what they have done, they have handed over a sack of ration. I am not saying it’s wrong, but they have made you all dependent that now you wait for the ration. The government’s job is to empower the people, else what will be the future of their children. There are other issues like inflation, but it is not being addressed.” She claimed that there were 12 lakh vacant posts in the government departments in UP, which were not filled in the last five years. “Now at the time of elections they are saying that recruitment will be done. SP and BSP are doing similar things. They all make hollow promises at the time of the polls,” she said. Priyanka said that it is the ‘dharma’ of the leader to serve the people. “So many incidents of atrocities against Dalits and women took place like Hathras, Unnao and Shahjahanpur, did anyone ask? No one. Did anyone come out in support of the victim? No one,” she said. She said that the government brought one scheme for women to give cooking gas cylinders. “But after that they made it so costly that it became difficult for women to get it refilled. A woman does not get empowered with a gas cylinder.
None of the party is talking about women empowerment. For women empowerment education, security, health and employment is required,” she said. Priyanka said that all opposition parties were not talking about the issues of the people. “They are talking about religion and caste because it benefits them. These things do not lead to your development, but it benefits them. You will benefit only when there is a government of the public,” she said. She said that Congress has made separate ‘Vidhan’ for the men, women and youths. “In our ‘Bharti Vidhan’ we have explained how recruitments will be done, we have decided to release a recruitment calendar on a date that will be fixed for every step and if any officer will try to disrupt we have promised to make a law under which he will be punished. Similar things have been done in ‘Mahila Vidhan’,” she alleged. She accused the BJP government for working in the interests of the industrial houses and not that of the people. “All their policies and politics are for select industrialists. Industrial houses do not create employment, it is created by the Public Sector Undertakings, which have been sold by the government. PSUs which have not been sold yet like Railways and BHEL, are preparing to sell them as well,” she said. She lambasted at the BJP leaders for their remark that nothing was done in 70 years. “If nothing was done by Congress, then what are you selling. Your sold the port made by Congress, you sold airports made by the Congress and whatever the party made in 70 years, you are selling everything,” said Priyanka.