Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad today said development in Uttar Pradesh “virtually stopped” ever since Congress was voted out of power 27 years ago.
“Neither any new power plant has been set up nor any new canal has been developed during the last 27 years,” Azad told a public meeting here last evening.
He claimed that the sugar mills in the state were forced to close down during the tenure of non-Congress governments.
P L Punia, senior party leader and Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, said there was a mass exodus of youth and poor from UP for want of employment as new industries were not set up in the state.
“The industrial zones developed during the Congress’ stint in power are on the brink of collapse as new industries have not come up,” Punia said.
Punia alleged that the Modi government has waived loans of industrialists to the tune of Rs 10 lakh crore, however the same facility was denied to farmers.
“The Congress government had waived farm loans of Rs 72 lakh crore,” he added.
He also said that the Congress enacted the Right to Information Act, Food Security Act and the Right to Education Act, while nothing of that sort was done by the Modi government.
Party MP Pramod Tewari, citing claims by BSP leaders who quit the organisation, said there was “rampant” corruption in ticket distribution.
In an apparent reference to the reinduction of Gayatri Prajapati in the UP Cabinet, Tewari said, “The corruption in SP has been accepted time to time by none else but its national president Mulayam Singh Yadav.”
He also accused the BJP of playing “politics of hatred” and said the Prime Minister has not yet fulfilled the promises he made during the Lok Sabha elections.
“Neither the price rise has been checked nor promise of bringing black money from foreign countries and transferring 15 lakh to the account of every person has been fulfilled,” he added.
