Show percentage on jobs, education, health: Priyanka on Yogi Adityanath's '80 vs 20' remark

NOIDA: Instead of talking about the upcoming Uttar Pradesh polls being a fight of "80 versus 20", Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the ruling BJP should put out statistics on employment, healthcare and education in the state, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said on Monday. She also hit out at the Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh for showing no accountability towards people over issues of development and toeing the line of caste-based politics.

Interacting with a group of Noida residents during poll campaigning to seek support for Congress candidate Pankhuri Pathak, Priyanka Gandhi cited the example of Chhattisgarh, where her party is in power. The issues of home buyers, including pending registries and delivery of flats, dominated the talks.

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Citing her interactions with Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, the Congress leader told the Noida residents that any chief minister would be aware of the problems being faced by the people of the state. "He (Baghel) told us that if there is a group of say, businessmen, he has to meet them and address their concerns. But that does not happen in Uttar Pradesh because they engage in the politics of caste and religion. They have no accountability and hence, you all are being ignored," Priyanka Gandhi said.

"We are simply saying that what should be spoken about during an election is not being said. They are not talking about development. People are not going to benefit from the talks (about caste and communal issues) they are giving, only political parties are benefitting from it," she said. There is a need to talk about jobs, education, healthcare and women safety, the Congress leader stressed.

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"They talk about 80 per cent versus 20 per cent. We say, talk about the percentage of youngsters who do not have jobs, talk about education, what percentage of the budget will you put in education, healthcare. Tell people about the money spent during the COVID-19 pandemic," she said. It is the responsibility of the public to change this pattern of politics, Priyanka Gandhi added.

Noida in Gautam Buddh Nagar district is scheduled to go to polls in the first round of the seven-phase Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls on February 10. The counting of votes will be taken up on March 10.