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- Uttar Pradesh Polls
Lucknow needs Cong govt: Rahul
Rahul Gandhi said the state needed a Congress dispensation to enable money meant for welfare of the people reach them.
Addressing a string of election rallies, he came down
heavily on non-Congress parties saying these had done nothing
for development of the state.
The Congress governments had brought a positive change
in their party-ruled states like Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and
Assam, he said.
But, in the past 22 years, successive non-Congress
governments had failed to develop Uttar Pradesh, Rahul said.
"They (SP, BSP, BJP) have done nothing except looting
government funds," the Congress general secretary said.
"The Congress has given Bundelkhand package, weavers
package, RTI, RTE and schemes like MNREGA and now the food
security programme.
"Tell me what these parties have given you," he asked.
"People cast votes, leaders become Chief Ministers and
forget the public and this chain is being repeated since the
past 22 years," the Gandhi scion said.
"The Centre has been sending maximum funds to UP. But,
all this money goes waste because the state government is
not putting it to good use," he said.
"In the Samajwadi Party regime, the foodgrain scam took
place and during the BSP rule, it is the NRHM scandal," the
Congress leader said.
Targeting the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party, Rahul Gandhi
said "the elephant (BSP`s poll symbol) eats it (funds) all and
his appetite is growing by the day."
"Lucknow needs a Congress government so that the money we
send for you, reaches you in time," he said adding "it makes
me angry when I see UP going backward instead of forward."
"Other states have developed because people from UP are
working there. Do you not want your own state to develop in a
similar manner?
"Time has now come for a change. You have given 22 years
to these parties -- give us five now and I promise you we will
change the face of UP," the Congress general secretary said.
Mulayam Singh had been the Chief Minister thrice but
each time, his cycle got punctured, he said.
"The police stations were ruled by goondas during his
regime and that was all you got," Rahul said.
Uttar Pradesh had not seen progress because its leaders
did not see dreams, Rahul said.
"I dream that people do not die of hunger, do not have
to leave their homes for jobs. Why don’t these leaders also
dream?" he said.
In the past 22 years, Uttar Pradesh had got no new
industries, no power plants and yet these leaders promise
electricity during election time.
Exhorting the people to vote the Congress to power in the
state, he promised in the next 10 years, the picture of
Uttar Pradesh would be totally different.
PTI