Hamirpur (Uttar Pradesh), April 29 (IANS) Blaming non-Congress governments for the prevailing backwardness in Uttar Pradesh, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi Friday urged the youth to enter politics to transform the country’s most populous state.
He was addressing Youth Congress activists at Hamirpur and Jalaun in the underdeveloped Bundelkhand region where he sought to make inroads through a two-day tour commencing Friday.
‘In order to strengthen Indian democracy, we need to first emphasise on following basic democratic norms within our organizational set up,’ Gandhi was stated to have told the gatherings in both the places.
Citing the example of Punjab from where he began his campaign for revitalization of the Congress party’s youth wing, Rahul Gandhi said: ‘Just as we conducted Youth Congress elections in Punjab, we need to do so in other parts of the country to promote democracy within the party.’
Expressing satisfaction at the response shown by local youth at the membership drives undertaken by the Youth Congress in parts of Bundelkhand, he said, ‘this will go a long way in reinforcing the party at its roots.’
Training his guns at the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), he lamented over the failure of non-Congress governments over the past two decades to get Uttar Pradesh to keep pace with the rest of the country.
‘While the nation was marching ahead, Uttar Pradesh was lagging far behind despite its rich potential,’ he said.
He also flayed the Mayawati regime for ‘improper utilization and pilferage of funds allocated by the centre towards various development schemes’.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi landed in Kanpur, from where he drove down to Hamirpur and Jalaun.
According to state Congress spokesman Subodh Srivastava, ‘he was denied permission to land in Hamirpur, hence he chose to fly down to Kanpur.’
The spokesman added: ‘Rahul Gandhi was keen on spending the night in Banda where he is scheduled to address a public rally along with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tomorrow (Saturday), but the district authorities refused accommodation in the local circuit house, that was stated to be reserved for a wedding in the family of UP PWD Minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui.’
