'Modi renaming UPA works to claim credit'

Hours before campaigning for 13 of the 81 Assembly constituencies in Jharkhand came to an end, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Jan-Dhan Yojana.

She said Modi has been taking credit for all the welfare schemes launched by the previous UPA government. “The Jan-Dhan Yojna launched for poor amid much fanfare is originally a UPA plan where we had helped 33 crore people open bank accounts. ‘Sirf naam badal kar credit le rahein hain BJP waale’ (The BJP is taking the credit by changing the nomenclature of schemes launched by the UPA),” she said.

Sonia made a vitriolic attack on Modi Government, in an apparent reference to BJP hijacking UPA’s direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme. To buttress her point, she cited the example of Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran Pariyojna (Rajiv Gandhi Rural Electrification Programme), which is likely to be merged with a similar scheme launched by the BJP recently in the name of Deen Dayal Upadhya.

“Ever since the BJP rode to power six months ago after spreading falsehood and making hollow promises, they have not devised any new plan or programme. So, be cautious of this party which is very good in marketing, while we lack in terms of ‘prachar’ (advertisement) despite taking welfare measures like rural job scheme, Land Acquisition Act and making laws in favour of women’s safety,” said the Congress president. Striking an emotional chord with the electorate of Christian-dominated reserved constituency, Gumla, Sonia said she had given ticket to a man with clean image–  Binod Kispotta, who earlier had served as Deputy Commissioner of the district.

Without taking the name of other non-Congress parties, including its erstwhile ally JMM, Sonia said when Jharkhand was created in November 2000, there were just two districts facing Maoist problem, but today the menace has affected all the 24 districts. “This was because not one government in the state worked for the welfare of local people, particularly women and tribals,” she averred.
 
Sonia’s rally in neighbouring Daltonganj was marred by skirmishes between the Congress and BJP supporters.