Congress President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi,
while addressing a well attended Congress rally on Tuesday at Kangra in poll
bound Himachal Pradesh- slammed the ruling BJP government in the state for lack
of development in the state. “What BJP did for this state in the past five
years? Why the state of affairs is so pathetic here? In the past five years
they did nothing in the fields of tourism, education, roads and other
infrastructure. The educated youth here are jobless. The farmers and other
workers also have been facing hardships at present. The life of my sisters here
are full of troubles. The BJP is bothered not about the interests of the people
but only about themselves”, said Sonia Gandhi.
Attacking the BJP government for not implementing the
central schemes effectively, the Congress President continued, “The UPA
Government at the centre released huge financial assistance for education,
health, employment generation and welfare of the women. But it is very sad that
the state government did not use these funds properly and as a result the
benefits of the central schemes did not reach the poor. There is no improvement
in the lives of the poor. The people face a lot of difficulties because of the
lack of facilities in education and health.
You should keep all these facts in mind before casting your votes and I
appeal to all of you to ensure the defeat of the anti-poor BJP government
here”.
Referring the price rise Sonia Gandhi said “We are facing
challenging situations right now. You
must be aware that few years back the world witnessed serious economic crisis.
The situation is worse in some parts of the world even today. We also had to face a lot of trouble. We have
to buy most of the oil from outside and the prices of the same has increased
manifold. The increase in the prices puts pressure on us also. The UPA government still is making an effort
to support people; why can't state governments do the same for people?” and
asked “Is it not the responsibility of the state governments also to take all
possible measures to help the poor in their states? In Congress- ruled states, economically
weaker sections get three extra LPG cylinders and they also reduced the VAT on
fuel”.
Sonia Gandhi then
talked about the benefits of Foreign Direct Investment in retail. “The UPA
Government is committed to protect the interests of the farmers. That is why we
helped them by waiving off their loans. The farmers in villages are forced to
sell their products for cheaper prices and those were later sold in cities for
big prices. We want the farmers get proper and adequate prices for their
produce. This will be possible only if the farmers are able to sell their goods
directly at the cities. I want to ask, should farmers not get the money for
their hard work? People should get their security needs at a fair and
affordable price. And this is the concept behind allowing FDI in retail. The
important thing is that every state has the liberty not to implement FDI in
their state” she said.
While concluding her
address the Congress leader requested the voters to ensure every single vote
for the Congress and urged them to become a part in the process of development
and welfare of Himachal Pradesh.
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