E-Paper
Will give women ₹10,000 per month in Himachal, says Priyanka Gandhi
Priyanka Gandhi says women from underprivileged families will get ₹8,000 per month under central and ₹1,500 under state scheme; bats for changing import duty on apple
Congress generals secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Wednesday said the INDIA alliance government if voter to power will work for women’s empowerment. The leader promised ₹10,000 per month to women from underprivileged families in Himachal, saying ₹8,500 will be provided under the Congress’ Lok Sabha manifesto scheme to eldest women of poor families besides the ₹1,500 allowance being given by the state government.
“Our sisters across Himachal will get ₹10, 000 monthly. From July, ₹8,500 will be deposited into women’s accounts every month besides the state scheme allowance of ₹1,500 per month,” she said while addressing a public rally in Kullu. “The state-level scheme was implemented in Lahaul and Spiti and it will be implemented across the state,” she added.
Priyanka also struck a chord with the fruit growers of the state, highlighting how favourable GST regime and import duty can bolster the sector.
“Farmers are facing the brunt of GST and low import duties on foreign apples,” she said, while alleging that the Centre had handed over the monopoly to the Adani Group. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not meet any families of the farmers who died during the agitation against the three farm laws,” she said, calling for a change in the policies to help revive the sector as well as small and medium industries.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi weakened small and medium businesses and strengthened big industrialists and today maximum cold storage in the state is owned by businessman Adani who decides the rate of apples, she said and added that if voted to power, Congress would strengthen small and medium business.
Hits out at Centre over unemployment
Priyanka said schemes like Agniveer would increase unemployment, which has already touched a record high with 70 crore youth waiting for jobs.
“Agniveer scheme has dashed the hopes of youth keen to join the armed forces,” she said before questioning the government’s move to change the one rank, one pension scheme: “Now the disabled soldiers were bereft of pensioner benefits.”
‘A matter of pride to stand by people during disaster’
Priyanka also attacked Modi for discriminating against Himachal during the disaster as the state was being governed by the Congress at the time.
“The PM neither gave any special package to the state nor declared the worst ever monsoon as a national disaster and rather made all-out efforts to topple the democratically elected Congress government in the state,” she said before highlighting how chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, his cabinet colleagues and Mandi MP Pratibha Singh stood by the people during the disaster.
“It’s not a big matter that cabinet ministers worked on the ground during the disaster, but instead a matter of pride that the entire Congress stood by you, when the BJP was busy politicising the disaster,” she said.
She went on to heap praise on the party’s Mandi candidate Vikramaditya Singh, saying she was aware of his work and his dedication to the party. “Whenever I sought help from him, he stood by the party. Whether it was the time of political crisis that the Congress government faced or the party’s decision to field him from Mandi,” she added.
Vikramaditya reiterates promise to set up hospital
Vikramaditya, meanwhile, reiterated on his earlier promises of setting up a hospital in Mandi, “We will seek help from our leaders at the Centre to help us construct the hospital.” He also invoked Sonia Gandhi’s contribution for the region, saying she had laid the foundation for the Rohtang tunnel, adding, “One cannot wipe out the contribution of Congress by just changing names.”
