Addressing a party convention at Motijheel Ground, Rahul said: “Though the Bahujan Samaj Party government (BSP) is often referred to as a government of Dalits, what has it done to uplift their living standards?” He added that till date, no sincere effort has been made by the BSP to promote education among the Dalits. “Without education, the development of any section of the society is not possible,” he said.

According to the Amethi MP, during his visit to the schools of the state, he preferred meeting the backbenchers, “a majority of whom were Dalits”. In spite of the BSP being in power in Uttar Pradesh, the education for Dalit children has been completely ignored, he alleged.

Talking about his visit to the a Dalit home in the Ambedkar Nagar Maleen Basti at Jajmau earlier in the day, Rahul said: “His poor financial condition showed that BSP leaders are least bothered about the problems being faced by Dalits.”

According to Rahul, the biggest threat faced by the country was “votebank politics”. The recent incidents of violence in Mumbai, Patna and Andhra Pradesh were the result of such politics. “People from different sections of the society are being exploited as votebanks. If the trend continues, it will become a major challenge for the country,” he said. Taking a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Rahul accused the party of maintaining double standards.

“In Mumbai, BJP members are backing Raj Thackeray and Mumbai Navnirman Sena. But during public meetings at Uttarakhand, they criticise the thrashing of north Indians in Mumbai,” he said.

Asked about him being denied permission to interact with the students of Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Rahul said: “I wanted to meet the students and despite the hurdles, was successful in doing so. I am willing to go anywhere for the cause of the people.”

Cong alleges security breach, police deny

LUCKNOW: The state unit of Congress party alleged that Rahul Gandhi’s security was breached during the latter’s visit to Kanpur on Friday. In a statement, state Congress president Rita Bahuguna Joshi said that no pilot or escort was provided to Rahul.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Kanpur, Hari Ram Sharma, however, denied the allegation. “Security was tightened for Rahul Gandhi”s visit and a pilot vehicle escorted his fleet. There was some confusion when the pilot took a turn for the circuit house and Rahul Gandhi’s vehicle headed towards the Chandra Shekhar Azad University,” Sharma said. “By the time the policemen could return to join the fleet, Rahul Gandhi had reached the university. The pilot vehicle along with a contingent of police force remained with the Congress MP since morning till he left for New Delhi,” he added.

The SSP said that since Rahul’s programme at the university had been cancelled, it was assumed that he would return Circuit House.

DIG of Kanpur Range Kamal Saxena said: “Rahul Gandhi is an SPG-protected VIP and the police are bound to follow the security norms laid down. The district police had deployed a fool-proof security for the VIP’s visit and there was no security breach.”