- Sonia Gandhi's address in Aligarh, U.P on 19th February 2012

- Sonia Gandhi's address in Aligarh, U.P on 19th February 2012

Sonia Gandhi in Aligarh: Put locks on corrupt policies and open doors of progress


Congress President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi kick-started her election campaign today for the fifth phase of assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh by addressing a well attended rally in the historic city of Aligarh which is well known for the lock-industry. She said that the two decades old non-Congress regimes dragged the state of Uttar Pradesh backwards.
Striking an emotional chord with the people of Aligarh Sonia Gandhi said “The moment I put my feet on the land of Aligarh its glorious history comes to my mind. The memories of great scholars, famous poets and brave freedom fighters from this place give a fresh energy. This city reflects India’s unity in diversity. We should maintain the beauty and pride of Aligarh at any cost”.
The Congress President continued “You know very well that Congress always fought against all attempts to damage the secular fabric of our country. It always believed that spreading the poison of divisive ideology is a crime. We treat everyone equally. We intend to protect the interests of every section of the people. I also believe that we should extend more support towards the backward and underprivileged. We therefore make policies for their betterment and upliftment”.
Asserting the need of further improvements in the villages Sonia Gandhi said “We also want to plug the rural-urban difference. We realize that big cities cannot be strengthened without the strength of the villages. Similarly the development cannot be completed until the city-like facilities reach the villages too. The Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre has been designing policies based on this balanced vision”.
Referring various welfare scheme of the Congress led UPA Government Sonia Gandhi continued “We implemented Mahatma Gandhi NREGA policy to address the issue of unemployment in the villages by which every poor is guaranteed for a minimum of 100 days job every year. 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, Pradhanmantri Gram Sadak Yojana, opened up new Universities and implemented Rajiv Gandhi Electrification Scheme to provide electricity at every place”.