Lucknow, October 15
Locking horns with Congress president Sonia Gandhi for projecting her government as anti-development, Chief Minister Mayawati today announced to hold a “maha rally” in the Nehru-Gandhi “karmabhoomi” of Rae Bareli.
Launching a frontal attack on the UPA-led Congress party, Mayawati said she would hold the rally to apprise people of the unfinished and abandoned projects of the 44-year Congress rule in the state and the “impediments” being created by the present UPA government in the development of the state.
Accusing the Congress of attempting to draw political mileage out of the project ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Chief Minister did, however, announce a probe into farmers' complaints on
land acquisition.
Principal secretary in the Chief Minister's secretariat Netram would conduct the inquiry and present a report in three days.
Addressing a press conference at her 5 Kalidas road official residence, the Chief Minister was in no mood to take Sonia Gandhi's barbs regarding her government scuttling central projects in Rae Bareli lightly.
“The Congress is worried only about Rae Bareli, but I am worried about the whole of Uttar Pradesh. Why eight if they ask for land for setting up 50-60 factories in Purvanchal or Bundelkhand? My government would immediately hand it over,” Mayawati pointed out while charging the Congress with creating regional imbalance in the state.
Defending her action of cancelling the allotment of land for the railway coach factory, Mayawati said despite Congress being in power in the state for so long and describing it as the “karmabhoomi” of the Nehru-Gandhi family, the condition of the Dalits, poor and minorities was pitiable.
"The development has been restricted to only a few Congress persons," she quipped.
Hitting out at Congress president, Mayawati said her government had only asked Sonia not to hold a rally at the disputed Lalganj land. "There was no restriction to hold a rally anywhere else in the district or the state," she pointed out.
"If I would have misused political powers like others, I would not have allowed her to hold a rally in Dadri or even allowed her road show in Rae Bareli yesterday. At the show of resistance, I would have even fulfilled her dream of going to jail."
She substantiated her charges of the Congress misusing land in the twin districts of Rae Bareli and Sultanpur (in which the Amethi constituency falls) by providing statistics.
According to her in Rae Bareli alone, 20 factories have been established, out of which only nine are running and 11 have closed down, causing wastage of 192 acres.
Similarly in neighbouring Amethi, 862 acres have reportedly gone waste after nine of the 16 factories set up closed down.
