The Congress on Friday announced that there will be a separate ministry and budget for Poorvanchalis in Delhi if the party is elected to power in the upcoming assembly elections to focus on the needs of 35 lakh migrants from east Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
With elections nearing, all three parties-AAP, Congress and BJP- have sought to woo the sizeable Poorvanchali voters residing in the national Capital by launching different schemes and announcing poll promises.
Addressing a joint press conference, congress leaders Supriya Shrinate and Kanhaiya Kumar highlighted the contribution of Purvanchalis in Delhi’s development and accused the AAP and the BJP of only treating them as a vote bank.
A separate ‘Department for Purvanchalis’ will do justice to the needs of 35 lakh people from the community living in Delhi, said Shrinate.
Pollsters believe that the Purvanchali voters have the potential to influence results on 30-45 seats out of the 70 Assembly segments in Delhi.
Addressing a press conference, senior Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar said the Congress is committed to fighting against unequal treatment of anyone. “Delhi belongs to everyone but often Purvanchalis are ill-treated even though they are offering services to build and run the city,†he said.
Former President of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students’ union Kanhaiya Kumar highlighted the party manifesto as a “Congress Coupon†and said that if the Congress comes to power, its guarantees will result in the family saving Rs 10 lakh over five years. “While for Prime Minister Narenda Modi this won’t matter since he wears Rs 10 lakh worth of suits, a middle-class family can do so much with the savings in five years,†he said.
Launching a scathing attack at the AAP government over poor development, Kumar, who contested the Lok Sabha elections from North-east Delhi unsuccessfully against the BJP MP Manoj Tiwari, said voters must back the Congress for the overall development of the city.
Kanhaiya Kumar hit out at the AAP and the BJP for working for each other in the election. “When Arvind Kejriwal is fighting without joining hands with us, the onus is on him to prove who is fighting this election with,†he said, adding that the AAP came into being while opposing the Congress.
He also supported Rahul Gandhi’s proposal for a caste census if the party comes to power in the national Capital.
