All India Congress Committee general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday alleged that policies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government benefit big industrialists, while the poor and middle class are left in the lurch.
Gandhi said that the BJP-led government in Manipur lacked political will to solve unemployment in the state.
“Manipur has enough potential to solve unemployment. However, the BJP does not have the will to do it,” she said while addressing a virtual interaction programme with people in the north-eastern state amid the 2022 assembly elections.
Gandhi said that the Congress party respects civil liberties and democratic rights of the people of Manipur and is ready to “fix all damages” done by the BJP in its five-year term.
Commenting on the delay in the Autonomous District Council (ADC) election, she called it an act to “supress the voice of the public”.
“It is an act to suppress the voice of the public. In fact, ADCs are the voice of the public. It is the promise of the Congress to strengthen the ADCs by giving more power and to conduct its election in time,” she assured.
Speaking on women empowerment in the state, she assured the people of Manipur that if voted to power, the Congress will ensure 33% reservation in the job sector and free public transport for women, while also decongesting the Ima Keithel (Mothers Market) in Imphal.
Gandhi further promised that her party will safeguard the territorial integrity and “historical” boundary of Manipur in all aspects, and promote peace, harmony and unity among all ethnic groups.
Introducing a right to free health care, strengthening the irrigation facilities, providing reliable supplies of fertilisers, uninterrupted power supply, employment generation are some of the objectives the Congress plans to take up if the party is brought back to power, she added.
“Unlike the politics of the BJP, which is progressing in ‘divide and rule’ policy in terms of castes, religion and gender, the Congress is there to take up all possible measures with to provide a strong government for the development of Manipur and the well-being of its people,” Gandhi said.
My promises are not just because the elections are in the corner, but also because the Congress wants Manipur to be progressive in all aspects, she added.
Speaking at the occasion, former chief minister and state CLP leader Okram Ibobi Singh said the Congress in Manipur is focused only on those assembly constituencies where it can defeat the BJP.
“We are concentrating only on the constituencies where we can defeat the BJP, which is why the Congress did not field candidates in all 60 seats of Manipur,” Ibobi said.
The state Congress unit fielded candidates in only 54 constituencies, while the BJP fielded candidates on all 60 seats.
“The result of the election will itself say whether we are weak or not,” Ibobi said in response to the BJP’s claim that the Congress is a “weak party”.
Regarding the frequent visits of BJP’s national leaders to the state, he said, “They came on a regular basis to assuage the public as they know that people are fed up with the BJP rule, both in the state and the Centre. We do not need our leaders to visit the state. We, the Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), along with our supporters are more than enough to fight the election successfully,” he added.
MPCC president N Loken called the BJP “toothless tigers” and urged people to not feel intimidated by “the various threats made to vote for them”.
“The current election is the end of the BJP and the party will be rooted out of Manipur,” Loken said.
