Senior Congress leader Ajay Rai on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and BJP, saying both the parties treated Purvanchalis only as their “vote banks” without giving them anything in return.

Addressing a press conference at the party’s city office here, Rai, who is also the president of party’s UP unit, said the guarantee in the Delhi Congress manifesto to create a separate ministry with a separate budget to protect the interest of lakhs of Purvanchalis living in Delhi is praiseworthy.

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He said that the separate ministry will take care of the health, education, and financial condition of Purvanchalis to help them earn a respectable living.

Slamming the AAP and BJP, he said, “AAP and BJP have treated the Purvanchalis only as their vote banks without giving them anything in return. BJP president JP Nadda and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal have insulted Purvanchalis, though they play a vital role in the progress and development of Delhi, by equating them with Bangladeshis and Rohingyas, and accusing them of coming to Delhi with a Rs five ticket to get Rs five lakh worth of free treatment.”

He asked the Purvanchalis to vote for Congress in the February 5 Assembly elections as only the grand old party will fulfil its guarantees to protect their interest and uplift their life.

“Purvanchalis mostly live in slum clusters, unauthorised colonies and resettlement colonies. But when the Congress returns to power, it will not only allot the nearly 55,000 flats constructed to resettle the poor, but will also revive the in-situ construction of flats started by the previous Congress government, which was shelved by the AAP government after getting the votes of Purvanchalis with false promises,” the senior Congress leader said.

Rai also slammed the BJP-led government in UP over the tragic incident at the Maha Kumbh.

“The tragedy at the Maha Kumbh stampede in Prayagraj occurred due to the improper arrangement made by the UP government. The Yogi government only made tall claims without creating proper facilities to accommodate crores of devotees at such a limited place,” he said.