Accusing the Congress of completely ignoring Poorvanchal during its rule in the state, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has alleged that the region trailed behind only due to the party's wrong policies.

"Poorvanchal was completely overlooked during the long regime of the Congress in UP, where not a single industry was set up resulting in unemployment and poverty and the region trailed in terms of development," she said in a statement issued here last night.

She said that instead of blaming the state government, the Congress should introspect. "It was only due to the wrong policies of the party that Poorvanchal remained a backward region."

While the UPA government paid no attention to setting up new industries in the region, those set up earlier were closed down, she said.

"While a number of industries set up by the Centre in Allahabad have closed down long back, some others like ITI were on the verge of closure," she said.

Mayawati said that four sugar mills of the Centre were non-operational and a number of industries in Sultanpur and Rae Bareli were facing closure.

"The Centre adopted a step-motherly attitude towards UP in the power sector as no ultra mega power project was allocated to the state," she said.
Mayawati said that in order to improve the situation in Poorvanchal and accelerate development of other areas of the state, she met the Prime Minister and requested for a special package of Rs 80,000 crore.

"Unfortunately, the Centre paid no heed on the request made by the state," she said.

The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said she also wrote a letter to the Prime Minister last year and apprised him with the situation in Poorvanchal while demanding a special area incentive package.

"This package has been given to some states like Uttrakhand where rebate is being offered in income tax and excise, but the request made by the UP to grant a similar package for industrial development in Poorvanchal region has not been accepted by the Centre so far," she alleged.

Accusing the Centre of indulging in politics on the issue of development, Mayawati said Congress leaders were hampering UP's progress by giving "baseless and misleading statements from time to time."

"Contrary to the allegations being levelled by the opposition parties specially Congress, the BSP, when in power, has taken concrete measures for the development of Poorvanchal region," the BSP supremo said.

She said besides setting up new industries and power projects in the region, the government has launched a host of schemes for the welfare of the people in Poorvanchal.