Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to launch ‘padayatra’ in Lucknow today ahead of 2022 UP elections

Ahead of upcoming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is slated to launch a ‘padyatra’ across various parts of Lucknow today (Thursday, 11 November).

The 'padayatra', a part of the Congress’s Pragati Yatra launched on 23 October, will start from Badi Kaliji temple in Chowk area and end at the Dargah Hazrat Abbas after making its way through the Old City.

According to a report in Hindustan Times, the Congress claims that the route chosen for Priyanka Gandhi is seen as politically significant as it is intended to play on the "secular" chord of a Lucknow's long past to propagate the party's idea of a nation.

The yatra will remind people that the thread that binds India is a shared legacy that is above realms of caste, religion and other elements of diversity, a Times Now report quoted UP Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu as saying earlier this month.

Priyanka has been actively campaigning in Uttar Pradesh, ahead of the polls early next year. She has been raising a host of issues, including the Lakhimpur Kheri violence and farmers' issue.

She changed the political narrative in the state by announcing 40 percent reservation of tickets for women. The Congress general secretary plans to override caste discrimination with gender politics.

Upping the ante on Thursday, she hit out at the Uttar Pradesh government over the issue of safety of women, alleging that women were unsafe in the state.

Her attack came after media reports claimed that an officer at Bapu Bhavan in Lucknow has been arrested for allegedly molesting a contractual worker after a video of the incident went viral.

"Be it secretariat, road or any other place: Women are unsafe in Uttar Pradesh. This is the reality of the government's claim on 'women's safety'," Priyanka said in a tweet in Hindi.

"A sister from Uttar Pradesh had to make a video of the incident with her viral due to inaction on her complaint of sexual harassment. How much patience and fighting power would she have had?" the Congress general secretary said.

Priyanka urged women in the state to unite and fight for themselves.

"You are a girl, you can fight. All the women of the country are standing with you," she said.

Priyanka vows Rs 10,000 per month honourarium for ASHA workers

Priyanka  also accused the government of "insulting" the work done by Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) and promised an honorarium of Rs 10,000 per month for ASHA and Anganwadi workers if her party is voted to power next year.

Taking to Twitter on Thursday, she shared a purported video of an alleged "assault" by the police in Shahjahanpur on ASHA workers who wanted to meet Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath with their demands.

"Every assault on the ASHA sisters by the UP government is an insult to the work done by them. My ASHA sisters have given their services diligently in coronavirus times and on other occasions. Honorarium is their right. It is the duty of the government to listen to them," the Congress general secretary said in a tweet in Hindi.

"ASHA sisters deserve respect and I am with them in this fight," Gandhi said.

The Congress has been attacking the state government over the issue of law and order and women's safety, alleging that criminal activities are rampant, a claim denied by the Yogi Adityanath dispensation.

Last month, she had alleged that the Uttar Pradesh government was exploiting Dalits, minorities and others in the state.

In the 2017 Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party had secured 312 seats in the elections for the 403-member House. Samajwadi Party had bagged 47 seats, Bahujan Samaj Party had won 19 while the Congress bagged seven seats.

With inputs from PTI