By IANS,
Lucknow : Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi Friday held Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati responsible for the poor power supply in his parliamentary constituency of Amethi, while remaining silent over remarks against the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo that have landed his party’s state chief in jail on charges of denigrating Dalits.
Addressing a gathering in Amethi, Gandhi slammed Mayawati for allegedly misusing developmental funds by installing statues and setting up memorials in the state, and appealed to the people to from a Congress government in Uttar Pradesh.
“The (BSP) government has place for statues and elephants…but for development there is no place…If you want development of your state in the real sense, you all should work together to form a Congress government in Uttar Pradesh,” said Gandhi who is on a day’s tour to Amethi.
“Crores of rupees released by the centre for the development of Uttar Pradesh are being siphoned off by the state government. Owing to misuse of funds only, the power scenario and other civic amenities in the state cannot be rated as satisfactory,” he added.
“The state government is just not bothered about improving the power scenario. It’s surprising that power production in the state is nearly the same as it was 25 years ago,” he added.
Earlier this week, the town saw violent protests over poor supply of electricity.
Gandhi also stressed that in terms of development Amethi, about 150 km from here, would remain his top priority.
“No matter whether I go to Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu…For me, Amethi comes first…No matter where I go, I always keep contemplating measures for an all-round development of Amethi.”
“My relation with people of Amethi is not political…I consider them as my family. I will continue to strive for the development of Amethi,” added Gandhi.
After arriving here in the morning, Gandhi drove to Amethi without answering queries from journalists over what he thought of Rita Bahuguna Joshi’s statements against Mayawati and Joshi’s subsequent arrest.
“Rahul will hold meetings in all the five assembly constituencies in Amethi,” said party leader Akhilesh Pratap Singh.
According to party officials, Gandhi was in Amethi to hear the grievances of the people.
Joshi was arrested after midnight Wednesday in Ghaziabad, on the outskirts of Delhi, for remarks that chief minister Mayawati said were insulting to her as a woman and a Dalit. Joshi has been charged under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
A mob shouting pro-Mayawati slogans later attacked and torched Joshi’s house in Lucknow. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has denied it was involved in the attack.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has not reacted publicly to Joshi’s remarks but has reportedly told her MPs from Uttar Pradesh that what Joshi said was “completely unacceptable”.