Firdaus Khan
Gonda (Uttar Pradesh). Congress President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi kick-started her election campaign in Uttar Pradesh with a well attended rally in Gonda today. She said that the twenty two years‘ non-Congress regimes ruined the state of Uttar Pradesh.  Sonia Gandhi started her speech by recollecting the contribution of U.P and said “I feel happy that I got an opportunity to meet the people of Uttar Pradesh. The moment I put my feet on this land mixed feelings come to my mind... At one hand I am proud about the state of Uttar Pradesh, but on the other side I feel sad to see the state of affairs here. I am proud to remember the glorious contribution of the people of U.P during the freedom struggle. I also feel proud for the rich contribution by the people of this state in the fields of Sanskrit, Urdu and Hindi literature. I also recollect the wonderful history and the cultural tradition of U.P”.
“But what happened in the past 22 years? It is natural in democracy that governments will come and go. But what happened in the state of U.P never happened anywhere else.  In the past twenty two years there had been a lot of change and development in the country and the world, but UP has been ruined by these non-Congress governments” she said.
The Congress President said that the security and honour of the common man is at stake in UP. “There are problems all around.  All sections of the society are in distress and pain. The future of the farmers, labourers and poor people are in danger. There is uncertainty in the state that an order might come by which the land of farmers might be acquired for the wealthy” she added.
“Is there any one to hear their voices? No,” said Sonia Gandhi and again asked “Why there is no one to hear their problems?” and quipped “Because the leaders of the political parties who were supposed to listen were involved in all forms of misdeeds for the past 22 years”.
Referring the axing of ministers by Mayawati Sonia Gandhi said "The present Chief Minister dismissed 21 of her ministers when elections are only one month away. She was not able to see their corruption in the past five years. I want to ask whether taking resignations made her government clean."  "Is this not cheating the people? Is it not an attempt to cheat the people," she asked.
Referring the non-Congress parties the Congress President continued “True people behave the same way both inside and outside and they do not change their face again and again. But the parties BJP, SP and SP are not falling in this category. All these parties are same, changing colours frequently”.
Recalling the various coalition governments in the state, she said that all the non-Congress parties have joined hands for opportunism. “You must remember the BJP-SP alliance in U.P in which they shared the Chief Ministership six-monthly. These parties were not having the capability to run a state for more than six months. One thing is clear. They were not running the Government for the welfare of the people but only to protect their own selfish interests.  They have done nothing for the state during their governments, they have, however, filled their own pockets”, argued Sonia Gandhi. “The state has seen other opportunistic political alliances also. But one thing is clear that parties with pure intentions will never indulge in such activities”, she added.
“I can bet that if there is any political party which has never compromised with those dividing society, it is the Congress party. It is only the Congress party for which the entire society and all sections are equal. It is only the Congress which is committed for communal and religious harmony. Congress has delivered what it promises. The Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre also fulfilled the promises made in the election manifesto” claimed the Congress President.
Referring various welfare scheme of the UPA Government Sonia Gandhi continued “The UPA framed policies like Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission to ensure house, water and roads, National Rural Health Mission to provide adequate health facilities for the poor, Sarva Siksha Abhiyan to ensure that every children in the age group of 6 to 14 get proper education, Mid-day meal scheme to ensure food to every children in the schools and Rajiv Gandhi Electrification Scheme to provide electricity at every place. Now we are ready with the food Security Bill to make sure that no one in the country lives in hunger. But what is happening? The opposition is trying to block the policy and is spreading baseless allegations”.
“They do not understand the difficulties of the poor. They do not realsie the requirements of the people of U.P, the farmers and labourers. They are not bothered about the pathetic condition of the industries. But we do” said the UPA Chairperson.
“We understood the difficulties of the farmers. We helped them as well as labourers. We worked for the upliftment of the backward people and empowerment of women. But here in U.P other political parties are busy in selling out the treasures of the state to their own people for cheaper prices. They cheated the poor farmers in the case of supply of fertilizers even. All these wrong-doings are not because of any shortage of money. The UPA Government had sent one lakh crore to the state of U.P. This is not a small amount”, Sonia Gandhi informed.
“So my brothers and sisters, if you elect a Congress Government in U.P that Government will belong to  the entire people of Uttar Pradesh. I assure that if voted to power in Uttar Pradesh we will form a government which is of aam aadmi, farmers, women, minorities and youth and will be a transparent one. I assure more jobs for the youth, facilities for farmers, benefits for women and backwards and will strive for a green revolution”, she urged.
She exuded confidence that the electorate would pay attention on these issues and vote for her party in the coming elections. “I request you to support the Congress and elect a Congress Government in Uttar Pradesh. I also request you to play an important role for the progress of your state by ensuring every single vote for the Congress”.