'UP not developed because you vote for caste, religion', Priyanka Gandhi tells voters

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday blamed the politics of caste and religion for the ‘dismal' state of affairs in Uttar Pradesh and said the non-Congress governments for three decades had done nothing except tall claims of development.

The Congress leader also took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying how he could remain ignorant to the raging stray cattle menace faced by the farmers of the state.

"UP could have progressed but there are only advertisements on which the BJP is spending crores of rupees. The CM, PM all are of the BJP but nothing is here in the name of development, why has such a situation emerged, and its direct answer is that since the past 30 years, it has been politics in the name of caste and religion,” Priyanka said at an election meeting in Paniyara.

She said the Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party and the BJP were able to form governments only by “exploiting the emotions” of the people over caste and religion, and hence, the state did not see development.

Read | UP Poll: BJP banks on 'Hindutva', SP on caste equations

“For such a state of affairs, you all are also at fault as you have made it their (leaders) habit that there is no need to work. You will vote by closing your eyes on emotional issues even if your children remain unemployed,” Priyanka said addressing the voters.

Attacking the BJP leaders, she said, “They come here and talk about Pakistan, terrorism, caste and religion, but no one talks about you.” Referring to the stray cattle menace, she said though she had written to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath suggesting that the Chhattisgarh model could be implemented for resolving the issue, he did not reply.

The Chhattisgarh model entails the government buying cow dung from the people as a result of which they are expected to take care of stray cattle and resolve the issue.

“Last week, the PM came for campaigning and said from the dais that he did not know of the stray cattle problem which is there for five years. You are the prime minister...people say you are ‘antaryami, sarvgyani’, you get to know everything… people fear if they say something from their room, you will get to know and yet you did not know about such a big issue,” she said taking a jibe at Modi.

“Who has given the himmat (courage) to the PM and CM that they say from the ‘manch’ (dais) that they do not know what your biggest problem is…you have given this courage as they stand here and speak of Hindu-Muslim, divide you on caste, ‘aur nayya paar ho jayegi’ (and they cross the shore),” she asserted.

Read | Uttar Pradesh polls: Why is BJP afraid of stray cattle?

She sought to know from the people why there were voting for governments that spoke only of religion and caste. “Don't vote for them,” Priyanka said.

“If you are working hard to get your son educated and giving him everything he wants without him working for it, he turn out to be ‘nikamma’ (useless)...you have turned the leaders into something similar. They have to do nothing ...the leader has turned into nikamma, not of any use for you,” she said, holding the people of Uttar Pradesh responsible for what she called poor governance and underdevelopment.

Taking a dig at the BJP governments at the Centre and the state over inaugurating a slew of projects in the recent past, Priyanka sought to know why they were initiated when elections were around the corner.

“At election time, inaugurations and foundation stones were laid, airports were being made, but in the past five years, they were sold to friends. Policies are being made for big industrialists in the country today, not for the poor and the middle class. All projects are for PMs friends and not for the people,” she said without taking any name.

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