Shri Rahul Gandhi said on Sunday that he was not making any promises to the people because his intentions were clear and when intentions are clear, one does not need to make promises. If you want to listen to promises, you can attend the meetings of Mulayam Singh and Mayawati because the leaders there do not work– they make promises and steal you money.

Addressing a rally in Etah on Sunday, the Congress general secretary said that the farmers work all day in the fields. Land was cheap about 15-20 years ago but the cost has escalated now. Normally, when one sells his land, he gets the market price but in UP, the government forces the farmer to give his land to builders at throwaway prices. If the farmer protests, he is made to face bullets.   Shri Gandhi said that farmers were always prepared to give their land for roads and other developmental projects but wanted the right price for their land. In Haryana, farmers get the market price but when I went to Tappal, Bhatta Parsaul , the officers told me that the protestors were not farmers but Naxalites. If a farmer raises his voice in UP he is called a Naxal.

Shri Rahul Gandhi asked the people if they had benefited by casting their vote for SP, BSP and BJP in the past years– a thousand voices said ‘No’.   Shri Gandhi further said that the Congress had proved itself with its performance. “We gave you MNREGA, national highways, loan waiver for farmers, weavers’ package, Bundelkhand package and the NRHM. You have given 22 years to these parties and now give us 5 years and you will yourself vote for the Congress after that,” he said.

He said that the real benefit of the Congress schemes were visible in states like Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Maharashtra. In Andhra Pradesh, women were able to find their names  on the internet and got employment through MNREGA. “But Mayawati says that this is all natak,” he said.  He explained that the Congress started the Rs 60,000 loan waiver scheme when farmers told us that banks were shutting doors on them. We are now giving the food security bill under which every poor family will get 35 kgs of food grains every month. But Mayawati says it is all natak, he added.

Attacking Mulayam Singh Yadav, Shri Gandhi said that he is now promising free electricity. The people of Amethi told me that there is no electricity but only the bill that comes regularly. Besides, where will he give electricity from? From the skies? There has been no new power plant in the past 22 years and he was chief minister thrice.

Shri Gandhi further criticized Mulayam Singh for not visiting Bundelkhand during drought. “Now he is promising to turn it into Israel. The people there want Bundelkhand, water — not Israel. For five years Mayawati was chief minister but she did not visit a single village or mingle with the common man,” he said.

“Mulayam Singh claims to be a leader of Muslims but what has he done for them? We set up Sachchar Committee, sent scholarships but all this did not reach you. When we announced reservation Mulayam Singh criticized it saying it was insufficient,” he said.   Shri Gandhi further said that this is your money and there is no dearth of money either. In UP, the money gets stolen. The court has said that thousands of crores was stolen in the NRHM scheme. Mayawati sacked 22 ministers after they looted the money for five years and the BJP happily took them on board — the same BJP that took out yatra against corruption.

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