Priyanka Gandhi slams UP govt for 'attacking' ASHA workers in Shahjahanpur

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday slammed the Uttar Pradesh government for allegedly attacking Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) workers in Shahjahanpur. Sharing a video on Twitter, Vadra said, "Every attack on the ASHA sisters by the Uttar Pradesh government is an insult to the work done by them. My ASHA sisters have given their services diligently in the COVID pandemic and on other occasions. Receiving an honorarium is their right. It is the duty of the government to listen to them. ASHA sisters deserve respect and I am with them in this fight."

The Congress leader further claimed that ASHA workers will be paid Rs 10,000 per month if the party is voted to power in the state in the upcoming assembly polls. "The Congress party is committed to the right of providing an honorarium to ASHA sisters and if our government is formed, ASHA sisters and Anganwadi workers will be given an honorarium of Rs 10,000 per month," she said in a tweet.

Uttar Pradesh is scheduled to go for Assembly polls early next year. In the 2017 UP Assembly elections, the BJP had secured 312 seats in the elections for the 403-member House. Samajwadi Party (SP) had bagged 47 seats, BSP had won 19 while Congress had bagged seven seats in the last Assembly polls in the state.