Loan waiver, 2 million jobs among Cong promises for 2022 UP polls

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday flagged off “pratigya yatras” from Uttar Pradesh’s Barabanki with multiple promises, including loan waiver for farmers and jobs to 200,000 people if voted to power in next year’s Assembly polls. She also promised a separate manifesto for women in a week and stressed that their participation in politics is necessary.

Her other promises on Saturday included a 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.

“We waived loans of ₹72,000 crores 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 on Saturday.

Earlier this week, Priyanka promised 40% party tickets to women for the assembly polls, smartphones to class 12 pass girls and scooters 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. 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 scooters for girls is one of the promises made in the manifesto for women to be released in a week,” said Priyanka.

She said several contractual workers met her in the past two years, and the party, when voted to power, would regularise their jobs.

“I have come here to understand their problems and the state of affairs here,” she said.

Before making the 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.

Priyanka also slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the “bad” state of affairs of farmers and failure to dismiss 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 got 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,” Priyanka said.

Reacting to Priyanka’s promises, BJP’s Uttar Pradesh vice president Vijay Pathak said, “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.”

Priyanka spoke briefly at the launch of the pratigya yatra, which was flagged off from Harakh Bazar in Barabanki, with the slogan “Hamari saat pratigyayen, hum vachan nibhayenge (Our seven promises, we will fulfil our commitment).”

The other two yatras began from Varanasi and Saharanpur on the same day. The yatras will cover major cities, towns and villages across the state till November 1. The party’s fourth yatra will be launched from Gorakhpur after Diwali.