Sonia Gandhi has a great concern for the farmers

Congress President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi always stressed that development means welfare of the poor. If the poor and underprivileged sections of the society are not getting the benefits and they are not able to be a part of the path of progress, we cannot claim development, she always said.

In her recent campaign for the Congress in Gujarat, Sonia Gandhi had slammed the BJP government for its false claims of development. She said that the tribals in the state are in distress and pain.  “The welfare and development of Adivasis are our prime concern but the present BJP government has not been serious in this matter. They have almost killed the Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojana”. “You must be remembering that the UPA Government at the Centre had waived off loan worth crores  of the poor farmers but still the condition of the farmers in Gujarat remains pathetic because of the anti-people policies of the BJP government in the state”, she added. 

“Farmers have committed suicide. There is no water or electricity available,” she added. The Saurashtra region, which has 52 Assembly seats, saw a spate of suicides by farmers following poor monsoon this year. The Congress had announced Rs 1 lakh compensation to kin of each of the deceased farmers.

Hitting out at BJP’s manifesto that promised 50 lakh houses in the next 50 years, Sonia Gandhi argued “Now, at the time of elections, they remember houses. They are promising 50 lakh houses. How many units will they construct per day? What kind of dream are they selling?” Dismissing Modi’s claims of Gujarat being a power-surplus state, she said, “Even today, 57 areas are dark zones and 4.5 lakh farmers are waiting for electricity connections even as the state is selling power to other states.”

Congress’s fight is not for power but for rights of people: Sonia Gandhi

Congress President Sonia Gandhi while addressing an election rally in the poll bound Punjab made it clear that her party’s fight is not for power but for people’s rights. The people must get their due, she said. “When Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister, the State had seen lot of development. The Rail Coach factory in Kapurthala is the living example of it” she added. Sonia Gandhi reminded the electorate of Punjab that her late husband always took care of the interests of the farmers and the poor in the State.

Earlier, the Congress President was given an affectionate welcome on landing in Kapurthala by the top Punjab Congress leadership and the people.

Speaking on the occasion, Capt Amarinder Singh assured Sonia Gandhi that the State Congress would form the next Government in Punjab by winning over 70 seats.  He also briefly threw light on the party’s manifesto for the coming elections and promised that he would discuss its details during his visits to different constituencies during the next few days.

 

This article is posted by pressbrief.in

Sonia Gandhi “Punjab Government failed to utilize Central funds”

Congress President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi while launching the Congress campaign in the poll bound Punjab on Thursday lashed out at the ruling Akali-BJP combine in Punjab for not properly utilising central grants. "The state government has failed to utilise the Rs 5,000-crore grant provided to it under MNREGA," Sonia Gandhi said while addressing an election rally in Kapurthala. She said the state government was inefficient as it could spend just Rs 526 crore on the UPA government's flagship social welfare scheme.

"Instead of looking into their own failures, they were trying to put the blame on the central government which has always been liberal and generous with sanctioning grants to the states, including Punjab, for development," added the Congress President.

Referring to the subsidised 'aata-daal' scheme of the state government, Sonia Gandhi said it was fully financed by the Union government and yet the Akali-BJP government was trying to claim credit for it. She said this government could not do a single thing on its own as it had no money and every development activity in the state was bankrolled by the Centre.

Sonia Gandhi asked if the state is developed, how come seven lakh more families in Punjab became poor during these five years. "Is this the development you are talking about," she asked. Terming the alliance as purely opportunistic, Sonia Gandhi said the two had come together only to stick to power.

 

This article is posted by pressbrief.in