Ghaziabad: Rajya Sabha MP Dr Subhash Chandra on Sunday (December 19) stressed the need to uplift the poor sections of society. He was speaking at the Vaishya Mahakumbh which was organised in Ghaziabad.

Prominent leaders including Union Minister Piyush Goyal and Rajya Sabha MP Anil Agarwal were also present on the occasion.

"The Vaishya society is not as strong as it seems. 80 percent people are still poor or belong to the middle class. Everyone has to be brought together. Everyone has to work," said Chandra.

He added that the politics of freebies hurt the self-respect of the people.

Ahead of the UP polls, the Vaishya Samaj held this event at Nehru Nagar Kamala Nehru Park in Ghaziabad as a show of strength and solidarity.

Speaking at the programme, Minister Goyal hailed the contribution of the Vaishya community in nation-building.

MP Agarwal said that traders from 29 districts of western Uttar Pradesh are participating in this conference.

"The purpose of this conference is to show the unity of the traders," he said.

"The traders are always with the BJP," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)