Firdaus Khan
Pilibhit (Uttar Pradesh). All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary Rahul Gandhi while addressing a mammoth election rally at Pilibhit on Monday urged the people to help Congress to form a Government of the youth and the aam aadmi that works for all sections of the people.
Expressing his concern over the bad state of affairs in U.P, Rahul Gandhi said, “This is election time in Uttar Pradesh. Normally elections bring in changes at every place. It brings in new concepts too. In U.P too, we have been experiencing elections for the past 22 years. You expected positive changes and fresh concepts after every election. You had supported the Cycle as well as the Elephant. But the state of Uttar Pradesh remains the same without any development”.
“During every election, these parties came to you with lots of promises. For the past 22 years, you have been hearing only promises. After coming to power they forget the promises and loot the public money,” said Rahul Gandhi.
“We too run a Government at the Centre, since 2004. We had not showered promises but assured only one thing – a government of aam aadmi that works for poor, farmers, minorities, women, dalits, Christian, Muslims, Hindu and adivasis. We had told you that our Government will come to you, hear your problems and will support all sections of the people and we delivered it. In 2009, you gave us mandate again, with a better margin,” said the Congress General Secretary.
“It is easy to make promises like free electricity, water and education. But there is a huge difference between what you tell and what do you deliver,” he said.
Referring to the poll promise of the SP, he said, “Mulayam Singh Yadav now promises free electricity in the entire U.P. He was the Chief Minister thrice. There is no power house built in the past 22 years and so how can he provide free electricity?”
“They wasted your 22 long years but keep making promises. Mulayam Singh Ji also promises that he would convert Bundelkhand to Israel. No one in Bundelkhand wants Israel. They want electricity, water and sufficient food. But he talks about Israel,” asserted the Congress General Secretary.
Addressing the crowd, Rahul Gandhi continued, “You people put in hard work and develop the country. The development we witness is the result of your blood and sweat. We all know very well that blind promises cannot bring in changes. Mayawati Ji had promised that she will put an end to crimes. But the atrocities against women and corruption still continue in UP”.
“Did Mayawati come to you in the past five years? Did Mulayam do so?" asked Rahul Gandhi and the crowd responded loudly with a ‘no. “How can they tell that they will bring in changes if they do not go to the people and realize their difficulties?” Rahul Gandhi asked.
“I had gone to Mayawati’s house when Kanshi Ram Ji passed away. There is a huge wall built around her house. She doesn’t come to you and the people cannot go to her house too,” he added.
Rahul Gandhi then shared one of his experiences with the crowd. “I went to a hospital in UP where some painting and renovation works were going on. I went inside. There were no doctors, patients or nurses. Dogs were scampering inside. I asked them what is going on. They said that Mayawati is on a tour to this area and she will be visiting the hospital and therefore the renovation. As she was expected to take the road route so the roads were being repaired and the hospital building was being painted,” he said and added “This is the situation in the state”.
“These leaders do not want to go to the villages, meet the people, share their meals or drink water from their huts. They think that the duty of the leaders is to talk to the media, give lectures and make promises. But a true leader will go to the people, talk to them and enquire about their issues,” Rahul Gandhi told the crowd.
“We have a Planning Commission in Delhi. The bureaucrats there think that they are the epitome of knowledge about development. I have interacted with them and I have also interacted with the farmers and aam aadmi. If you want to gather information about agriculture, go to the farmers. Or if you want to know about the roads, talk to the workers. The women and the youth in our country possess tremendous knowledge. But these leaders are not interested to gather the same because they are not keen for development,” argued Rahul Gandhi.
“They do not want to listen to you or solve your difficulties. They think that they can fool you by just showering promises on you. This has been happening for the past 22 years,” he continued.
Rahul Gandhi then commented, “The people are also responsible for this. In the last 22 years, you have been electing Governments which never bothered about the people”.
“We (Congress) also run a Government at the Centre, since 2004. We came to you and enquired about your difficulties. When we realized the problems of the farmers we designed a policy to waive-off the loans for them worth Rs. 60000 crore. We fought for the farmers in Tappal and Bhatta-Parsaul. What did the Mayawati or Mulayam do for the farmers? They grabbed their lands. When the poor farmers demanded adequate compensation, they received bullets. Mayawati is the Chief Minister, but she never went there. Mulayam Singh Ji now promises to help farmers but he never found it necessary to visit the aggrieved farmers. When I went there, Mayawati Ji and Mulayam Ji call me mad,” argued Rahul Gandhi.
“No farmers are against development. They are ready to give their lads for roads or any other infrastructure,” he quipped.
“If you want development, your leaders should come to you, hold your hands and interact with you,” reiterated the Congress General Secretary.
“There is no fault with the people of Uttar Pradesh. Your people go to Haryana, Delhi, Kerala, Karnataka, Punjab and Maharashtra and develop those places. The shining metro in Delhi was built by the people of UP though they can’t afford to travel by it. It is very sad that there are no jobs available for the youth in Uttar Pradesh,” Rahul Gandhi said.
“What do you want; jobs or unemployment allowance?” Rahul Gandhi asked. Taking a dig at Mulayam Singh Yadav’s promise to give an unemployment allowance, he added “Mulayam Singh Ji, when he was the Chief Minister, did not properly implement the Central Government’s MNREGA scheme, which assures a minimum of 100 days jobs to every poor. But now during elections he promises unemployment allowance. Had he implemented the scheme in the required manner there would have been no unemployment here”.
Rahul Gandhi further said, “Mulayam Singh Ji calls himself a leader of the Muslims. Did Mulayam Singh Ji do anything for them in the past 22 years? No one was benefitted. They were not included in the process of development under his regime. But now during elections he showers promises. He was Chief Minister thrice but did nothing for the Muslims. Ahead of the last general elections he embraced Kalyan Singh for narrow political gains.”
Rahul Gandhi added, “Congress implemented Sachar Commission’s recommendations. When we sent the money for scholarship to Uttar Pradesh that vanished in Lucknow. The funds reach Kerala and Tamil Nadu but the same did not reach the people in UP.”
“When media persons had asked Mulayam Ji about his stand on reservation, he did not utter any word. But when Manmohan Singh Ji went ahead with reservation, he complained that it was inadequate. He was the Chief Minister in UP thrice. Why did not he do anything then? When Rasheed Masood Ji talked about reservation he was expelled from SP,” said the Congress leader, questioning the double speak of SP Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on the issue of Muslim reservation.
“I am here not to make any promise but to fight to bring in positive changes in UP,” Rahul Gandhi reiterated.
Addressing the youth, he said, “The time has come for a change; so stand up, fight to bring in positive changes in UP. You have been tolerating the bad state of affairs for the past 22 years. Now stop tolerating and fight for a change. Let us form a Government of youth and aam aadmi”.
Rahul Gandhi then told the good number of Sikhs present in the crowd, “You put in your hard work and developed Punjab. You gave us a Sikh Prime Minister. Now please help us to transform UP too.”
"A Congress Government will bring back progress in Uttar Pradesh. Do not think about caste or religion and talk about development of the entire section of the people. Give Congress 5 years; the changes will be visible in five years and in ten years you will not recognize your own state,” concluded Rahul Gandhi,
urging the people to support Congress and elect Congress candidates in the ongoing assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.