Transfer ₹10k to bank accounts of the needy: Priyanka

LUCKNOW: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday demanded that a sum of Rs 10,000 be transferred to the bank accounts of all those in need due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

She also said the number of workdays under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) be increased from 100 to 200.

The Congress leader expressed these views in a Facebook live session during the party’s Speakup campaign during which she accused the BJP of attempting to destabilise the Maharashtra government.

“The Maharashtra government is fighting the pandemic. Instead of cooperating, you are trying to destablise the Maharashtra government,” she said. The UP Congress claimed that 52,000 party workers from the state participated in the programme. “This is the time for cooperation. We all owe to the people of the nation….The people of this country are facing bad times. They are desperate,” she said. To make her point, the Congress leader listed recent incidents of a son pulling a cart, a girl carrying her father on a bicycle and bodies of migrant labourers being found in Shramik Special trains.She also mentioned a child dying in his father’s lap and a mother lying dead on a railway station platform while a toddler tries to wake her up.

She said, “Today, Congress workers are raising their voice in favour of those worst affected by the lockdown following the Covid-19 pandemic… A sum of Rs 10,000 be immediately transferred to the bank accounts of everybody in need and Rs 7,500 per month should be transferred to their bank accounts for six months. For those who have returned to their homes, the number of workdays guaranteed under MNREGA be increased from 100 days to 200 days.”

She also demanded that a financial package for small traders.“I want to request all the political parties, mainly the BJP, not to indulge in any politics. At this point of time, everybody should be united. Leaders of all the political parties should come forward to help the people, doing away with their differences,” she said.

Mentioning last week’s standoff with the UP government over buses for migrants, she said, “You did not accept our offer for 1,000 buses. We did not have any issue even if BJP flags were used to run these buses. But you rejected that offer, saying we will run 12,000 buses of UPSRTC. These buses are running on paper,” she said.“We are not making any political demands. We are making demands in view of humanity… I am sure UP’s workers are viewing me on Facebook. I thank you all. Our UPCC president has been arrested and he continues to fight. Out duty is to raise our voice to bring justice to the people,” she said.