Azamgarh (UP): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi
on Friday assured the weavers that the delivery mechanism in the
Rs 3,000 crore package for them would be designed by them to
ensure they got maximum benefit from it.
Gandhi, during an unscheduled stop at a village inhabited
mainly by weavers, invited them to come to Delhi and help
draft the new "Bunkar Package" which would open up "new
opportunities" for them.
"I invite you to come to Delhi. I will arrange meetings
with concerned officials so that you can go and explain your
problems to those who are drafting this policy. I think you
are in the best position to tell them what would work on the
ground and make the policy most effective," said Gandhi.
Continuing his attack on Mayawati government for "rampant
corruption", the Amethi MP asked the youth in Uttar Pradesh to
join Congress for bringing about inclusive development.
He said the state cannot move forward unless the youth
played a greater role in politics.
On the second day of his UP tour, Gandhi made an
unscheduled visit to Niwada village in Mubarakpur area of
Azamgarh district. The village, dominated by the weaver
community, is one of the many villages that weave the famous
Banarasi sarees but the community is facing a series of
problems due to poor infrastructure.
Surprised to find Gandhi in their midst, the village
residents poured their hearts out saying he was the first
political leader who was concerned about their problems.
Discussing the package issue, the local weaving community
felt the normal procedure of sending financial resources
through Weavers? Societies had not produced the desired
results as a large share of the money never reached them.
Members of the community complained about rampant
corruption in the system, coupled with poor and erratic
electricity supply and other infrastructural constraints, as a
result of which they were not able to remain competitive while
unscrupulous middlemen made a lot of money.
Just as he had said during the Kisan Sandesh Yatra that
farmers knew what was best for them, Gandhi said similarly
the weavers had every right to decide the details of the
policies that were being framed to help them.
PTI
