Launching Congress party's election campaign symbolically from late Jawaharlal Nehru's constituency,Rahul Gandhi today unleashed a scathing attack on Mayawati government calling it "corrupt and insensitive". He also accused the BSP government of diverting funds given by the Centre for development schemes which he alleged went to the pockets ruling party workers and contractors. "Uttar Pradesh has been going backwards. Nehru was an MP from here but mafia and criminals are MPs from here these days," Gandhi said addressing a Congress rally marking 123rd birth anniversary of the first Prime Minister of India. "There has been no progress in this state. I have been in politics for seven years. In these years,I have learnt the most from the people of Uttar Pradesh," he said. "The government in Delhi made MNREGA which says every individual should get work. But in Bundelkhand,it was not the case. Crores of rupees which we sent vanished. The BSP workers,contractors profited from them while the poor were left gaping," he said. "People from UP are much sought after in other states like Maharashtra and Punjab for their hard work. But,ironically,their own state is languishing in abject poverty",he said. Attacking the police administration,he said in Mulayam Singh Yadav's tenure,police stations were virtually run by goondas and when people went to lodge FIRs,counter cases were slapped on them. "Even under the present regime,people cannot get FIRs lodged unless they greased the palms of police officials. There is corruption everywhere. If you want to lodge an FIR,you have to pay money. If your daughter is raped and if you don't have money,then you cannot lodge an FIR," he said. Gandhi claimed he had got a package of Rs 3,000 crore for weavers of Aligarh but the money did not go into the hands of the people. "The weavers came to us and said the money you are sending is not reaching us. So we made changes and the money now goes into the bank accounts of the weavers," he said. The 40-year-old MP from Amethi said a leader can understand the plight of the poor only when one visits the people and shares meals with them. "The people of Uttar Pradesh have taught me that to become a leader one has to go to the people. Till a leader does not eat in a poor man's house,he cannot understand the problems of the poor.. Till he does not get an upset stomach,does not fall ill,he does not understand poverty," Gandhi said. In a scathing attack on the Mayawati government for misuse of central development funds and corruption,he said he took up the case of Bundelkhand with the Centre which gave the region a special package of Rs 7,000 crore but it did not result on any tangible work on ground. "The chief minister toured various parts of the state,but did not care to go to the area reeling under severe drought",Gandhi alleged. "Another package of Rs 3,000 crore was sanctioned for weavers but they were apprehensive that the money would be swallowed up by the corrupt as their committees constituted by governments did not have proper representative character",Gandhi said. The Congress general secretary said as he visited hit poverty-hit countryside,"the people said they had heard of Centre's MNREGA scheme but had not got any work under it. Similarly,the funds granted under the National Rural Health Mission were siphoned off and did not reach the targeted group of needy mothers". Gandhi said the government is going to bring forward a Food Security Bill but he wondered "who will actually get the food in UP? People or the BSP workers?" He charged the Mayawati government with having acquired thousands of acres of land of farmers and giving it to rich builders. "When the people protested against it in Bhatta Parasaul,as they had not got reasonable compensation,atrocities were committed on their women and the people were fired upon by the police and branded as naxalites". Gandhi said the Centre has brought forward a pro-farmer Land Acquisition Bill "but opposition parties were against it. They were not saying anything openly but voicing their opposition in the committee deliberations". He said the government is going to bring forward a Food Security Bill but he wondered "who will actually get the food in UP? People or the BSP workers?"
