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Priyanka flags off yatras, promises farm loan waiver, halving power bills in Uttar Pradesh
Other promises include 20 lakh government jobs, MSP of ₹2500 per quintal for wheat and paddy, SAP of ₹400 per quintal for sugarcane
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday flagged off three pratigya yatras and made five more promises, including farm loan waiver and halving power bills, ahead of the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly election.
The promises also include 20 lakh government jobs in Uttar Pradesh, minimum support price of ₹2500 per quintal for wheat and paddy, state advisory price (SAP) of ₹400 per quintal for sugarcane, bringing down power bills to half, waiving dues of the Covid-19 period and financial assistance of ₹25,000 to Covid-19 affected families if the Congress comes to power in the state.
With this, the Congress has made seven promises in the run-up to the assembly polls so far. Earlier this week, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra promised 40% party tickets to women for the assembly polls, smartphones to class 12 pass girls and scooties to women graduates.
“We will not be able to bring about development and resolve some issues unless the women make progress and participate in the government. The Congress wants to give 40% tickets to women to ensure they are capable of fighting their battles. We are bringing out a separate manifesto for women, and the announcement of smartphones and electric scooties for girls is one of the promises made in the manifesto for women to be released in a week,” said Priyanka Gandhi while speaking briefly at the programme in which one of the pratigya yatras was flagged off from Harakh Bazar in Barabanki, about 40 km from the state capital.
The pratigya yatras have been given the slogan “Hamari saat pratigyayen, hum vachan nibhayenge (Our seven promises, we will fulfil our commitment).”
The two other yatras began from Varanasi and Saharanpur. The yatras will cover major cities, towns and villages of the state till November 1. The Congress’ s fourth yatra will be launched from Gorakhpur after Diwali.
Priyanka used the occasion to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi for what she described as the “bad” state of affairs of farmers and not dismissing union minister of state for home Ajay Kumar Mishra Teni whose son Ashish Mishra has been arrested in connection with violence in Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3.
The minister and his son have repeatedly denied the latter’s alleged involvement in the incident.
“You are aware how farmers have been killed by the son of a minister of the Narendra Modi government. This incident speaks of how the Modi government treats the farmers. The father of the accused continues to be a minister in the Modi government. We waived loans of ₹72,000 crore earlier. We will waive loans of farmers again and bring down power bills to half. The Chhattisgarh government is buying paddy for ₹2500 per quintal. We will buy paddy at the same rate. We will also give SAP of ₹400 per quintal to sugarcane growers,” she said.
She said a number of contractual workers have met her in the past two years and the party, when voted to power, would regularise their jobs.
Before making the seven promises, Priyanka had a brief interaction with a group of women in a paddy field in Barabanki. The women were seen offering her jaggery and food there.
“I have come here to understand their problems and the state of affairs here,” she said.
Reacting to the Congress’s promises, Uttar Pradesh BJP vice-president Vijay Pathak said, “The Congress has named poll promises as its pratigya. The people will take a call as the party has not been able to keep its promises in the past.”
