(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Taking a swipe at the opposition, Congress President Sonia Gandhi yesterday said the stalling of parliament prevented many important welfare measures of the UPA government from getting passed
Addressing an election rally at the Ajmal Khan Park here, the Congress chief also took pot shots at the Aam Aadmi Party's 49-day government in the city and the "divisive" ideology of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
She enumerated the welfare schemes brought out by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, especially the laws to abolish manual scavenging and giving rights to street vendors
"In the last 10 years, the UPA government under Manmohan Singh did revolutionary work. They launched several major works and programmes I don't want to repeat, you all know about it," Sonia told a packed audience
She said the UPA government had brought legislation to abolish manual scavenging, to give rights to street vendors so that they can carry on their work without being troubled by police. She mentioned the bill for pension and the 6th Pay Commission as well as the "one rank one pension" for armed forces
"If parliament had not got stalled, then we would have got many more important laws passed," the Congress chief said. Targeting the AAP, she said "some people think running a government is child's play, and you people saw in Delhi how some people ran away without running the government.
She said if the Congress came back to power, it would introduce measures for the poor, including free healthcare and medicines as well as pension. For students, she said the Congress would ensure education and jobs
Reaching out to voters, she said the Congress has "sacrificed" itself for the country - an allusion to the assassination of late prime minister Indira Gandhi and her late husband, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. "The Congress has sacrificed itself for the country," she said. "Congress ke rag rag mein desh-bhakti hai (Patriotism flows in the veins of Congress)," she said
Attacking the BJP, she said some people "mislead under the guise of patriotism just in order to grab the chair (power). For them, desh-bhakti means to grab power in order to fulfil their personal aspirations"
She attacked the "divisive" policies of the BJP, saying the Lok Sabha election "is a fight for ideals... between those that will divide and the Congress that wants to keep the people united, between one that wants to cut up society and the Congress that wants to keep it united.
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