Rahul Padyatra In UP: Hits Out At PM For Foreign Trips
23 November, Saharanpur
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi , who launched his mission 2017 with a padyatra in the sugar belt of western Uttar Pradesh, hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that when PM is only on foreign trip, Congress always stood with the farmers and labourers of the country, hearing their grievances and trying to solve it.
“PM should focus on the problems of farmers and people of the country, rather than visiting other countries,” he suggested.
Gandhi, who led a Congress march to highlight the problems being faced by sugarcane and other farmers, held village chaupals and panchayats during his over six km-long padyatra.The Congress Vice President interacted with peasants in Hardakhedi, Sikrikalan and Patni villages of the district.
He also took a dig at Modi’s ‘achche din’ slogan, asking where have those promised good days gone, saying good days of Congress will come, once the ryots, labourers and the poor felt good.
“When Narendra Modi is flying to England and other countries, Rahul Gandhi is standing here amongst you in your fields. I want to tell you that we are with you. Congress is standing with you and will die and keep standing with you,” he said, addressing the peasants ahead of starting his ‘padayatra’.
Gandhi said, “We don’t want such an India where the poor, farmers and oppressed are unhappy. We don’t want a suit-buit government. We want that India should be of the poor, labourers and small people.”
Taking a dig at the Prime Minister, he said, “When Lok Sabha elections were held a lot of people supported Narendra Modi. He claimed that he will change India. He does not even remember his own slogan of ‘achche din ayenge’. When we talk of ‘achche din’ people laugh across the country. Where are those good days?”.
“He travels abroad, flies to London, Singapore, America, but good days have not come. In India, ‘achche din’ will only come when farmers, labourers, poor, Dalits, tribals will have good days. Only then, will good days come for Congress,” the Congress vice-president said during the padyatra held at Patni, about 14 km away from the district headquarters.
Talking about Uttar Pradesh, he asked Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to come forward and keep up his promise of bringing a change in the state.” He still has about one and a half year left of his government and during the period, UP government should open the closed sugar mills and intervene to pay the cane dues of farmers,” he said.
The Congress vice president also highlighted how the ryots were not welcome in banks that laid a red carpet for the rich in this government and how the Congress-led UPA waived off Rs 70,000 of farmers’ loans.
He said the government launched the world’s biggest job scheme in MNREGA that provided guaranteed jobs to the poor and gave crores of money in the hands of the poor.
The march was held in Nakur Assembly constituency, which houses some defunct sugar mills, that have now been privatised.