15.11.11

Rahul sounds the poll bugle





Once, BSP’s Mayawati and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav fought for upliftment of the people and felt angry with the system, but now it was his turn to feel angry, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi has said. “Now they do not have that anger within themselves. They are only pursuing power. Only a politician who freely mingles with people and sees the ground situation for himself will get angry at the sorry state of affairs in UP. I feel that anger when I see how conditions are worsening,” Rahul Gandhi said. Addressing a rally at Phulpur – represented by his great grandfather and former Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru – to kickstart Congress’ UP assembly poll campaign, Gandhi called upon the youth to usher in change and said unless they wake up things would not improve. He first made the remark – that he gets angry when he visits the state – while on tour of eastern Uttar Pradesh at the beginning of the month. Mayawati and the Samajwadi Party hit back, asking him to direct the anger at the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre for corruption and soaring inflation. Rahul Gandhi retorted by saying that anybody connected with the people will be angry at the present state of affairs in UP. “How long will people from here go to Mumbai to beg? How long will you go to Punjab for manual labour? When will you wake up? When will you bring in change? I want answers from you,” Rahul Gandhi told the rally in one of his most-aggressive speeches till date, an indication of how keenly the battle for Uttar Pradesh would be fought. He said that there was a time when UP showed the path of development to the country. “But now, India is progressing but UP is lagging behind.” Reserving most of his attack for chief minister Mayawati, he said that even when there was a drought in Bundelkhand, the CM did not visit the area. “In Bhatta Prasaul, land was taken away from farmers and given to big builders. When farmers asked for the right price for their land, they were branded Naxalites and victimised by authorities,” he said amid huge applause from the crowds. He said that despite Congress bringing a new land acquisition bill, it was stuck as many other parties were opposed to it. He said that women in Bundelkhand have told him that NREGA money did not reach them and weavers in Aligarh also feared that the Rs. 3,000 crore sanctioned for them by the Centre would be siphoned off by the state government. The central government was bringing a food security bill to feed every citizen. “But the poor in UP may still remain hungry. Whether you get food or whether BSP leaders would swindle it, I cannot say,” Gandhi said. The central government has sanctioned Rs. 7,000 crore for procurement from Dalit businessmen and the Sachar Commission report is also being implemented for minorities, but most benefits do not reach the people due to rampant corruption. Calling upon people to vote sensibly and for development he said, “when I see you from Delhi I feel like going to Lucknow and fighting for your cause. Unless your thinking changes, things will not improve,” he told the rally.

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