Varanasi: Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh on Wednesday accused Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh of institutionalising corruption and said people fed up with deteriorating condition of the state want to associate
with the party in the 2012 Assembly polls.
Corruption set records in the BSP regime, and it has been institutionalised by the Mayawati government, he said while addressing the inaugural session of a two-day UPCC convention here.
Inaugurating the convention, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi said he would address the party workers after listening to their views. "I am here to hear you. I will speak only after hearing your views."
Slamming the BSP-government in the state, Singh said: “The posting of officers are done after taking money. And such officers after posting extort money for none other than common man." He also alleged that during Mayawati`s rule the condition of dalits and poor have deteriorated.
Apparently referring to farmers` agitation in Greater Noida, he said land were acquired in the state to be handed over to industrialists and there is no place for poor.
"People have faith in Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and in 2012 we have an opportunity to emerge as a force again," Singh said, adding that rising crime graph and other law and order issues in the state are haunting common man.
Stating that the Congress was out of power for 22 years in the state and people had seen misrule of SP, BSP and BJP, Singh pointed it is the right time to show party`s strength and gear up for 2012 polls.
"We are in opposition since 1990. We might have committed some mistakes but during non-Congress governments, Uttar Pradesh become a backward state from a leading state," Singh said.
The Congress general secretary said: "The opposition parties have divided the state on the basis of caste, creed and religion. People realise it and are looking forward to Congress once again."
Asserting that public want to associate with the party,
Singh said in the Lok Sabha polls, when pundits were claiming
that Congress would hardly get 7-8 seats, it won 22 seats.
Congress leader said the convention will help the party
to chalk out its plan for 2012 Assembly polls and suggestions
emerging from it will be discussed at the CWC meeting.
On the distribution of tickets for the polls, he said the
final decision would be taken by the AICC after going through
reports of observers.
Party workers presented a copy of "Yatharth Geeta" to
Gandhi after inauguration. Singh said the party leader has
been reading Geeta for a few months.
Singh also called for unity in the party and said:
"Everyone has ambition and its natural but the Congress party
is like our mother, which should not be put at stake for
ambition."
PTI
