In Kanpur, once known as the Manchester of India, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh underlined the lack of development in the city and in the state and blamed the non-Congress governments for it.
Addressing his first election rally in UP on Friday from the famous Moti Jheel in Kanpur, the PM targeted the BSP government in the state and said corruption had eaten up Central funds sent to UP for various welfare schemes. Without taking any names, he said the law and order situation had worsened, corruption was at its peak and the hopes and aspirations of the common man were not being addressed in the state.
The Prime Minister said that in the past 22 years, when non-Congress governments ruled the state, UP had moved backwards. “There is unemployment, power crisis, lack of drinking water, and even the educational institutions have not made progress. You need a government that can empathise with you and it is the Congress alone that can address your problems effectively,” he said. He pointed out that the Centre had provided maximum assistance to UP — five to six times more compared to previous years — but the state government had not cooperated when it came to development.
Listing the achievements of the UPA government and the projects it had sanctioned for UP, the PM said the Congress, led by Mrs Sonia Gandhi and Mr Rahul Gandhi, was capable of changing the situation for the better. “We have sent funds under various national schemes to UP. `24,000 crore has been given to the UP government for roads alone. However, none of it has trickled down to the common man,” he said. Referring to the Bundelkhand package, he gave credit for it to Mr Gandhi and stated the package could not be fully utilised due to faulty implementation. He emphasised the need for a government that could rise above caste and communal lines and ensure development. He urged people to vote the Congress to power and promised that “we will work with greater strength for the development of UP if the Congress comes to power”.