Priyanka Gandhi takes on Yogi in Gorakhpur, says his govt violated Guru Gorakhnath's words

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday targeted Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in his home turf of Gorakhpur and made a flurry of poll promises, including farm loan waiver and purchasing wheat and paddy at Rs 2500 per quintal.

"'Things have happened against the 'vaani' (views) of Guru Gorakhnath. Bulldozers were used, threats were made to put people in jail," she alleged at a rally, taking a swipe at Adityanath who is also the head of the prominent Mutt here named after saint Gorakhnath.

The Congress general secretary also reached out to farmers and members of the fishing community.

"If the Congress is voted to power, then fisheries will be given the status of agriculture, and it will get all the facilities like agriculture. The rights of people of the Nishad community will be restored in sand mining and fisheries. Apart from this, a university named after Guru Machendranath will also be set up," she said.

"The entire loans of the farmers will be waived. Wheat and paddy will be purchased at Rs 2,500 per quintal, while sugarcane will be purchased at Rs 400 per quintal. The problem of stray cattle will be resolved on the lines of Chhattisgarh, and a complete solution will be evolved," she said.

The Congress general secretary added that government jobs will be given to 20 lakh youths, while contractual workers will be regularised.

The Anganwadi workers will get an honorarium of Rs 10,000, and women will get three free cylinders in a year, she promised.

"Apart from this, if voted to power, our government will bear the cost of treatment of any illness up to Rs 10 lakh," she said.

She also said that Rs 25,000 will be given to families who have lost their livelihood due to COVID-19.

Hitting out at Chief Minister Adityanath, who has been a five-time MP from Gorakhpur, the Congress general secretary said that the health scenario in the district is dismal.

"As elections are approaching, we are hearing that AIIMS will be made functional. But nothing happened for five years. So how do you expect that it will be done now?" she said.

The Congress is facing a Herculean task to improve the party's tally in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, where it had won only seven seats out of 403 in the last assembly election.

Earlier this month, the Congress general secretary held a rally in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency.