Rahul Gandhi slams rivals in UP, stakes Congress claim

A charged-up and confident Rahul Gandhi used his first major interactive session with Congress workers in Uttar Pradesh on Friday to place himself at the helm of his party’s campaign in the election-bound state.

A day after lobbing the “Arhar Modi” jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over spiralling prices in the country, Mr Gandhi didn’t spare his own party leaders. Responding to a question put to him by a Congress worker, that conflicting messages were coming from New Delhi about the party’s intention to fight UP elections and its prospects, the Congress vice-president asked party workers to ignore “those leaders who sit in air-conditioned rooms in Delhi and badmouth the Congress”.

Making it clear that the Congress was fighting elections to win back Uttar Pradesh, Mr Gandhi said, “Listen to party workers and the people. I will take care of these leaders. Anyone who now violates the discipline in the party will face action.”

Referring to thousands of drenched party workers who stood listening to him after the heavy rains that had taken place just before the programme began, Mr Gandhi said, “Jiska kurta geela hoga, jiska kurta phatega, wohi aage badhga”, and won a thunderous applause.

Mr Gandhi was speaking at his maiden interaction — UP Udgosh — with the party’s district, block and booth-level workers, an idea mooted by poll strategist Prashant Kishor. (Udgosh is the Hindi word for a positive outburst)

There were no speeches – only answers to questions put up by party workers.

Confident and charged, Mr Gandhi walked up and down a specially constructed ramp at the Ramabai Rally ground while replying to questions from party workers that were being read out by former UPCC president Rita Bahuguna Joshi.

Congress workers Vikas Yadav from Bhadohi had a complaint: “Indiraji was accessible to all party workers but we have difficulty in meeting you.” To which Mr Gandhi promptly answered that he would open his doors to party workers and would organise a weekly “Janata Darshan”. While assuring the crowd that dedicated party workers would be given preference while distributing tickets for elections, he added that some outsiders may have to be taken in.

Defending the choice of Mrs Sheila Dikshit as the party’s chief ministerial candidate, he said, “The energy of youth needs to be channelised by experience and Sheilaji has transformed Delhi... People in Delhi repent the mistake they did by voting for a party which is more interested in doing drama and no work.”

Mr Gandhi lashed out at the SP and BSP and said that when one comes to power, goons take over the reins, and when the other is in power, corruption touches an all-time high.

Staking his party’s claim, Mr Gandhi said, “For 27 years, you have experienced various parties, various governments but can you tell me one scheme that they have launched and which has benefited everyone. Even the mobile phone that you carry in your pockets is a gift from the Congress government.”

For Akhilesh Yadav, he said, “Achcha ladka hai par kaam nahin karta”.

And when Parvez Khan, a party worker from Sant Kabir Nagar, asked who would be the main rival of the Congress in the upcoming UP elections, Mr Gandhi said, “If we fight unitedly and remain firm on our ideology, we have no rival. The Congress ideology is the ideology of this country which keeps everyone together and does not differentiate on basis of caste, religion and region. No one can wipe out this ideology.”

Mr Gandhi asked party workers to recognise their power and use it effectively in the elections. “We do not practice the politics of falsehood and our programmes are for the poor. The Modi government is bringing the bullet train which will cost Rs one lakh crore and its fare will be Rs 15,000 which only Modiji and his suit-boot friends can afford”, he said.