NDA trying to buy people's votes with doles, need to teach them lesson: Priyanka

Patna: Senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday urged women of Bihar not to be swayed by doles offered by the NDA government, alleging that the BJP-led coalition was "interested only in your votes", while her party wanted to give them "respect".

Addressing a 'Mahila Samvad' at state headquarters of the party, the party general secretary asked women to understand the "true intentions" of leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, "who deserved to be taught a lesson" in the upcoming assembly polls.

Referring to the disbursement of Rs 7,500 crore among 75 lakh women under Mukhya Mantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana earlier in the day, the Congress leader said, "Now that elections are round the corner, Rs 10,000 is being offered by the government. But, take note, they are not promising that the dole will continue every month."

"Women have the capacity to sense people's true intentions (neeyat). They make use of this faculty while looking for a match for their daughters. You must, similarly, realise the true intentions of Modi, Shah and Nitish," Vadra said.

When money is being offered just ahead of elections, it betrays a mindset that is interested only in your votes. They cannot understand your need for respect. They will not address your need for safety. I think crimes against women must have risen ten-fold in the last 10 years, she alleged.

"Our party wants to give women the respect that is their due. We have promised lands to the landless families. We propose that such parcels of land be registered in the name of a female member," Vadra said.

"My brother Rahul Gandhi has been fighting for social justice, an essential component of which is uplift of women. In the elections, you must discern as to who is really interested in your welfare and who is just after your votes," she added.

The Congress general secretary, whose party has an alliance with RJD and the Left in Bihar, also said that the much-talked-about medical insurance scheme of Rajasthan would be replicated in the eastern state if the INDIA bloc came to power here.

"When our party was in power in Rajasthan, we had brought in a scheme under which people could get free diagnosis and treatment up to Rs 25 lakh per year. We promise to bring similar benefits in Bihar," Vadra said.

Vadra also made a mention of 'ladki hoon, lad sakti hoon' (I am a girl, I can fight) campaign she had launched in adjoining Uttar Pradesh, where she had promised that 40 per cent of Congress candidates would be women.