Priyanka Gandhi Exclusive: 'Free ration a political strategy; poor kept poor for votes'

Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has made a concerted effort to make people dependent on its schemes, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra told Asianet Newsable in an exclusive interview. 

The AICC general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh said, "I feel that this government (Yogi Adityanath) has made a concerted effort to make people dependent on its schemes in which it is giving free ration, sending a little bit -- Rs 1000 to Rs 2000 -- to their accounts every few months. It has purposely created a situation where people are so poor and in such a bad condition that they become dependent on these schemes."

Calling this a political strategy, Priyanka said that the government was not "launching schemes that enabled people to stand up on their feet, get educated, get jobs, do their own businesses and become independent."

Also Read: Akhilesh Yadav Exclusive: 'Kerala far ahead of UP, Yogi does not know'

"The strategy is to keep people dependent on these kinds of schemes, keep them poor and in a bad situation so that when the election comes, you can use their emotions and religion, caste, etc, to get their vote and stay in power," she said.

#UPElection2022: @INCIndia's Uttar Pradesh incharge @priyankagandhi spoke exclusively to Asianet News about the Yogi Adityanath government's policies and the Grand Old Party's chances in the ongoing assembly elections. pic.twitter.com/cmdx4fyMlw

— Asianet Newsable (@AsianetNewsEN) February 23, 2022

Priyanka on Yogi's 'Don't turn UP into Kerala' jibe

In response to a question on the Chief Minister's remarks comparing Uttar Pradesh and Kerala, Priyanka said, "When your government has failed, when you promised 70 lakh jobs and provided just 4 lakh jobs, when you have done nothing for the security of women, for education or health services, when farmers in the state are suffering tremendously, when small business owners are facing greater problems than before, so what are you going to talk about? So obviously you will bring in religion and caste. You will try to polarise the elections because that is the only way you can go ahead."

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