Firdaus Khan  
Shahjahanpur (Uttar Pradesh). Addressing a mammoth rally in the Shajahanpur district of the poll bound Uttar Pradesh All India congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary Rahul Gandhi lashed out at Mayawati for the rampant corruption in the state and said that half of her cabinet ministers are already in jail by now, and some others are in queue. He was on the fourth day of his five-days tour to Uttar Pradesh campaigning for the Congress in the state.
The Congress General Secretary blamed the 22 years of non-Congress Governments in UP for the lack of development in the state. He repeated his promise that a Congress Government will bring back developments in Uttar Pradesh like it has been doing in all the Congress-ruled states.
Rahul Gandhi reminded that during the campaign for the Lok Sabha elections in 2004, while other parties made a number of hollow promises Congress had only promised a government of aam aadmi. “The opposition brought out slogans like India Shining. When those who had made the slogan were asked about its origin they said that they saw it in a television advertisement. They decided that India is shining without going to the people or talking to them. India cannot shine if we do not have jobs, proper roads, adequate electricity and sufficient water. Congress knew it because we came to you, talked to you and realized your problems. We therefore promised a government that works for aam aadmi, poor, minorities, dalits and adivasis. The people gave their mandate by electing an aam aadmi government of the Congress,” he said taking a dig at BJP.
“We found that no jobs are available in the villages. So the first thing we did was to implement MGNREGA to guarantee jobs for all. By this biggest employment generation scheme poor are assured of jobs if they intend to work. Through MNREGA poor are assured of a minimum of 100 days jobs in a year and a daily wage of Rs 120. We, in fact, brought jobs into the remote villages using this policy,” said Rahul Gandhi on UPA’s Mahatma Gandhi NREGA policy. 
Rahul Gandhi then took a swipe at Mayawati and said “while all other states are acknowledging that MGNREGA is the most useful policy UP, your CM says the scheme is of no use. She also said this during a public function. She along with opposition raised questions on how the Central Government will raise funds for the scheme” and added ““When we make policies for the welfare of the poor and underprivileged the opposition raise a number of questions. But if the policy benefits the rich and elite they keep quite. If a poor farmer sells his land in U.P and asks for adequate compensation he gets bullets. In Tappal and Bhatta-Parsaul striking farmers including women were assaulted by the BSP Government.  This is the character of your government,” commented Rahul Gandhi.
 “People in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Assam, Rajasthan or Kerala will vouch for the benefits of the scheme. They will admit that this scheme gave them the right to employment and it brought confidence in them. We talk about the rights of the poor but Mayawati calls it a drama of Congress.  The funds meant for this scheme is eaten up by the magic elephant in Lucknow. Normally elephants eat grass and leaves, but Mayawati’s magic elephant in Lucknow eats up funds for the poor,” he claimed.
On UPA’s RTI Act Rahul Gandhi informed, “Earlier only MPs or MLAs or bureaucrats were able to gather any information about the government officers or its actions. The common men did not having any right to ask for any information. But by bringing the Right to Information (RTI) Act UPA government ensured that everybody in the country is empowered to ask questions. When this was implemented a number of cases of corruption came out. The NRHM scam in Uttar Pradesh came to open because of RTI. The Youth Congress members had filed application under RTI and they could gather the details of irregularities”.
“Mayawati ji recently sacked some of her ministers alleging corruption. Why did not she remove them before? Why she did it after completing the five years term of her Government. Further she allotted the portfolios of the axed ministers to the most corrupt minister in her cabinet,” he alleged.
“We send huge funds to U.P. This money is yours. You go to Mumbai and build roads and big buildings there. The shining metro and the stadia for the Common Wealth Games in Delhi were built by you. When the entire Delhi sleeps the people of U.P work overnight. Your people go as far as Ladak for work. You go to Punjab or Haryana and they will agree that without the people of Uttar Pradesh they cannot produce crops there,” argued Rahul Gandhi.  “You people go to other states and help them to develop. Don’t the people of UP have the right to earn a job in their own state? Don’t they have the right to get their children educated here in UP? Don’t you need good hospitals, schools and roads in U.P?” he asked.
“This money did not fall from the sky. This is the money of your sweat and blood. This money is the result of hard work of farmers and labourers. If the country is developing it is because of your efforts, your blood and sweat,” said Rahul Gandhi amidst applauds.
“We should change the prevailing poor state of affairs in UP. You wasted 22 years by electing non-Congress Governments. You first elected BJP; they sought votes in the name of Lord Ram. They became the agents of Lord Ram. Then you preferred Mulayam Singh ji. He promised development but criminals were seen even inside police stations. You were angry with him and then you elected Mayawatiji in 2007. You know what is happening now. Half of her ministers are in jail. No electricity, no fertilizer available for the poor. The land of poor farmers was forcibly acquired by her Government without paying adequate compensation” argued Rahul Gandhi.
“We should think about changing the bad state of affairs in U.P. You have the strength in you. You can definitely change your state and it is not a difficult thing to do” he asserted. “But the real difficulty is that your leaders do not come to you, talk to you” he said and then asked “Has Mayawati ji come to your villages in the past five years? Has she interacted with your or asked what are your problems?”
Rahul Gandhi claimed that Mayawati is scared of the people, “I have seen her house. She has built a 40 ft wall around her house so that she will not have to face people”. “Same thing happened with Bundelkhand” continued Rahul Gandhi referring the relief package to the region. “When people were fleeing from Bundelkhand, I requested Mayawati ji to please visit the place. She did not go. We at the Centre sent a relief package of Rs. 3000 crore to Bundelkhand. But that money also vanished. Recently Montek Singh ji when visited the region observed that the funds sent for construction of wells and roads disappeared. The magic elephant gobbled it up” said the Congress General Secretary.
“You must change this. Give Congress five years. You have a Government of aam aadmi in Delhi and it has been serving the poor. So you also elect a Government of aam aadmi in U.P” urged Rahul Gandhi.
“We gave the right to job, right to food, right to education and now we are going to implement the right to food policy too. But your Chief Minister says that all these are drama. For the first time in the history of our country we have brought in the Food Security Bill to ensure that no one in this country lives in hunger. Every poor is ensured 35 kg of food under this scheme. But within two days of the tabling of the Bill Mayawatiji called it a drama,” alleged the Congress General Secretary.
“Mayawati calls herself a Dalit leader. The fact is that the Dalits are going to be benefitted more by the Right to food policy. But Mayawati says it is of no use because she now does not understand poverty. She forgot the poor. Mulayam Singh Yadav earlied used to go the people. But he also now stopped that”, he added.
“You need such leaders who come to you, talk to you and understand your problems. You need leaders who help you to take part in the process of development. We, the Congress will change U.P in ten years” assured Rahul Gandhi. 
“So now this is the time to put an end to all these miseries. You can see the states Maharashtra, Haryana, Delhi or Kerala where Congress is in power. All are developing. We can change UP too. So stand up. Reach the polling stations. Fight for a change” Rahul Gandhi asserted encouraging the gathering. 
“We, together can change the state. Please have faith in yourself. The day you have the trust in you, you can bring in changes.  I will not leave this state till I see the developments starting here. I will not leave this state till a government of poor, labourers, aam aadmi and farmers is formed here and poverty and backwardness are eradicated,” declared Rahul Gandhi.
“Politics is not about caste or religion but is of development. Indira Gandhi knew it and she worked to eradicate poverty.  I am here not for mere elections but to bring in positive changes in Uttar Pradesh. I want the entire country look at Uttar Pradesh and marvel at the developments in the state. I dream for a day when the people from other states come to Uttar Pradesh for better jobs, education and health facilities,” he spoke to the cheering crowd.
“I am sure that day will come. The state of Uttar Pradesh placed on the top of the developing states. We together will work from the core of our heart to make that dream a reality,” concluded Rahul Gandhi.