Bettiah/Darbhanga (Bihar): With an eye on
Assembly elections due this year end, Rahul Gandhi set out on
a tour of Bihar on Monday and said the Congress will go it alone
like the party did for Lok Sabha polls in the NDA-ruled state.
"Congress workers will fight for the rights of the
people without fear and bring change in Bihar. Congress will
contest on its own," said Gandhi, an AICC General Secretary at
Bettiah. Rahul is on a two-day visit to Bihar widely dubbed as
an exercise to test the waters.
In an attempt to shore up his party's dwindling
political fortunes in the state, the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi
family wooed the youth during his meetings.
Bihar was not developing because youths were not
entering politics, he said.
"Only if youths join politics can there be proper
development in Bihar," he told students of the Lalit Narayan
Mitihila University at Darbhanga.
Stating that youths across the country were looking to
the Congress, Gandhi said only those who fought for the
genuine rights of the people would be given party tickets.
Gandhi arrived in West Champaran district and drove to
Bhitharwa Ashram from where Mahatma Gandhi had launched the
historic Satyagraha movement in 1917.
Talking to party workers in Champaran, Rahul said there
is a need to function with a difference and strengthen the
party in view of the coming elections, party sources said.
At the meeting, which was out of bounds for media, party
sources quoted Rahul as saying that Congress could not win
elections in Bihar earlier because it did not go to the public
and win their trust.
A number of party workers also reportedly told Gandhi
that Congress suffered in the state due to its past alliance
with Lalu Prasad-led RJD.
Rahul attacks Sena, MNS for tirade against north Indians
AICC general secretary Rahul
Gandhi today attacked Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and the
MNS for their tirade against people from Bihar and Uttar
Pradesh.
"In Maharashtra, MNS leader Raj Thackeray keeps on saying
throw out people of Bihar and UP. But, who killed the
terrorists who had attacked Mumbai? They were the NSG guys
from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and from the rest of the country. At
that time they did not say throw away Biharis," he said.
Gandhi made the remarks at an interactive session with
workers of Youth Congress and NSUI here and while addressing a
conference on Dalit youth leadership development in Bihar.
The Congress leader said in lighter vein "if terrorists
have to be fought with, let Biharis remain there."
Asking the youth to change Bihar, Gandhi lamented lack of
development in the state. "Bihar has to be changed and it is
the youth that will bring this change by joining politics.
There is no problem with people of Bihar," he said.
Gandhi is on a two day visit to the state to boost NSUI
and Youth Congress membership drive at a time when Bihar is
preparing for assembly elections later this year.
The Congress leader took potshots at the BJP-JD(U)
government in the state, saying funds sent by the Centre for
development schemes in Bihar were not utilised properly.
"We can send money but we cannot implement schemes. It is
the state government's responsibility and in Bihar the
government is not of Congress. We can send money and we are
sending it more and more, but if the money is eaten away, we
(the Centre) cannot do anything," Gandhi said.
Virtually putting the party into election mode, Gandhi
listed the UPA's flagship rural job guarantee job scheme
NREGA, farmers loan waiver, forest Bill and mid-day meal
scheme.
Asked during the interactive session on what he will do
for Dalits now when Congress could not do so in last so many
decades in spite of being in power in the Centre, Gandhi said,
"nobody did as much for Dalits as Indira Gandhi did in the
last sixty years."
He, however, maintained that this division of people --
Dalits, OBCs and other categories -- did not appeal to him.
Gandhi asked the party workers the names of five top
Dalit leaders below forty years from Bihar, UP and the rest of
the country.
Not getting any answers, he said this was because people
from the Dalit community, backwards and poor are not allowed
to develop as leaders from the grassroots level.
"The route to politics is closed for one who is poor,
Dalit and has no kin in politics," he said.
Gandhi said none of the parties present in the state
--BJP, BSP and SP -- have done anything for the people as
compared to the initiatives undertaken by NSUI and Youth
Congress to develop genuine leadership.
"Youth join us because we empower them. We did this in
Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Bihar. You choose your leaders, we will
not impose leaders on you," he said. You participate in our
organisational elections. We will give you training after you
win and then promote you in politics," the Congress leader
said.
"We want maximum youths to join politics. Youths are
generally ignored when it comes to empowering them and
nomination culture takes over. But we want to change it. This
is an attempt to change nomination system through holding
organisational elections," Gandhi said.
Earlier in the day, Gandhi had addressed party workers in
Bettiah and Darbhanga and will address more of them in
Bhagalpur, Kishanganj and Patna tomorrow.
Special interactions with party workers belonging to the
Scheduled Castes and minorities, the two core constituencies
of Congress, have also been organised during Gandhi's visit to
the state, where Congress has not been in power since over two
decades.
The interaction with the SC workers here also assumes
significance in light of the fact that both Bodhgaya assembly
segment as well as Gaya Parliamentary seat fall in reserved
categories, with the SCs constituting a substantive chunk of
voters.
PTI
First Published: Monday, February 01, 2010, 23:54