subject: I want to see that golden period again in UP. I am here to fight with you at the ground level : Rahul Gandhi [print this page] Congress MP Rahul Gandhi kick started his campaign for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections on Sunday. He started his road show from Delhi-Ghaziabad border. He was welcomed by a huge crowd of supporters and well-wishers. The residents of Ghaziabad gifted him with a hookah and a turban.
Clad in a white kurta payjama, Mr Gandhi called for a change of guard in the state for its overall development.
"There was a time when Uttar Pradesh was number one in education, health & hospitals and other amenities, but today the state government has no place for words like development in its dictionary. The governments in the 15-17 years have done nothing except for dividing the society into sections, in the name of religion, castes etc. They have done nothing; the generation of electricity has not increased even by a single mega-watt in the last 15-17 years. The state still has the same roads, electricity, which was there 17-years ago," Mr Gandhi said.
Calling on the youth of the state, he said, "Sixty percent population of Uttar Pradesh is of the youth. Are you happy with the development of the state? Feel proud of the state? The youth will have to come forward, they can change the state".
"What happened to the money provided to the state by the central government? Did your hospitals improved? Were roads built? Did you get new schools? Where did all the money go? Now the same people, who misused the money are now in the electoral battle field and are saying that they will give you a bright future if you vote for them," he said, pointing towards the underdevelopment of the state.
Mr Gandhi called the people for their support for a golden future of the state. "If we all join hands, we can change the face of Uttar Pradesh, and that's what I promise to you," he added.
The crowds answered in a big no, when he asked whether they were happy with the state of affairs of UP in the last 15-years. He said that the consecutive governments in the state have worked only to divide them and have not contributed to the development at all.
"The state governments of Uttar Pradesh for the last 15-17 years have done nothing except for dividing the society into sections, in the name of religion, castes etc. Nothing has been done in the last 15-17 years. The state still has the same roads, electricity, which was there 17-years ago," Mr Gandhi said.
Mr Gandhi called the people for their support for a golden future of the state.
After Muradnagar, Mr Gandhi reached Modinagar, where he garlanded the statues of Baba Saheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar and Chaudhary Charan Singh. When Mr Gandhi was coming down after garlanding the statue of Baba Saheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar, a group of old men was heard saying that whatever one say, one must admit that this man is quite genuine and down to earth.
Before garlanding the statues of Baba Saheb and Ch. Charan Singh, Mr Gandhi addressed a public meeting in Modinagar.
Speaking on the occasion, he said, "When it took me so much of time to make you keep quiet, how are you quiet against the misrule in the state which was once the leader of the nation. Fight for your rights, raise your voice".
Mr Gandhi said, "I am really upset to see the state of affairs of Uttar Pradesh. Although my family and I stay in Delhi, our hearts are in Uttar Pradesh. I can never pay back for the love and affection given by you to my family since last several decades. I want to get Uttar Pradesh on the tracks of development; I want to see that golden period again. I am here to fight with you at the ground level".
"There was a time when students from all over the country used to come to Uttar Pradesh for studies, but know what has happened. Uttar Pradesh has lost its path, they have deviated it. States like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Haryana are surging ahead, and Uttar Pradesh is going backwards," he added.
"When I asked some one, that given choice to change one thing in the state, what would you change? He said, Corruption, and that too at the top," he shared.
"Whatever the government of your state wants, it does. Why are you all silent? They are taking all kinds of benefits, what did you get?," he asked to the people attending the meeting.
He finally reached Hastinapur in Mawana, where an anxious crowd of youngsters was there to greet him with a rousing welcome. He once again reiterated his promise of changing the face of Uttar Pradesh, if the people of the state where ready to join hands with him. Reacting to his call, the youth present at the meeting venue raised slogans in his favour and vowed to work for the development of the state.
I want to see that golden period again in UP. I am here to fight with you at the ground level : Rahul Gandhi
