Reaching out to women voters in Uttar Pradesh, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday asked them to make their elected representative more accountable and steer clear of voting on lines of caste and religion.
Ms. Vadra said leaders come to voters and make announcements without any accountability or result. But this was not just the fault of the “netas” but also of the women, said Ms. Vadra, pinning the blame on voting on the basis of caste and religion.
“When it comes to talk of caste, community and religion, you cast your vote on these factors. Why will a neta work when they know people vote on caste and religion,” Ms. Vadra said in Firozabad while interacting with women at her party’s ‘Shakti Samvaad’. Her question is part of the Congress’ attempt to break the existing caste patterns in the State, where caste loyalties and divisions dominate political discourse and representation, through talks of uniting the women voters by various promises including 40% share in ticket distribution in the upcoming election.
Ms. Vadra said that work would get done when voters make their netas more accountable and when they ensure the win of the party which talks of “positive” things and empowerment rather than the one which talks of “negative” things. Otherwise, they will continue to be “betrayed and lured” by this type of politics, she said.
Ms. Vadra referred to the Ujjwala scheme of the BJP government, under which free cooking gas was provided to poor families, and said that by simply providing women a gas cylinder the government thought it could abdicate all responsibility. “They won’t even ask how will you get the second cylinder (refill), how will you get empowered, how your education will get complete and how to create employment. They think you will all vote for them if they provide you just one gas cylinder,” Ms. Vadra said.
