Rahul Gandhi accuses Mayawati of fooling people by removing ministers

BAREILLY/SHAHJAHANPUR/PILIBHIT: Firing a fresh salvo at Mayawati, Rahul Gandhi today accused her of trying to mislead people by removing "corrupt ministers" when only a month was left to Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.

"A month before the elections, she is trying to fool the public by removing corrupt ministers," Rahul alleged while addressing a series of public meetings at different places in the three districts.

The Congress General Secretary alleged that when once the magic elephant eats up funds of a department, Mayawati dismisses the minister concerned accusing him of corruption and replaces him with an even more corrupt minister.

"A few days ago, she dismissed four ministers. Yesterday two more were dismissed and then she handed over the charge of their departments to another minister, who was more corrupt than the ones he had replaced," Rahul alleged.

Accusing CM Mayawati of hiding from the people he alleged, "It seems she is afraid of being amidst dalits and the poor and that is why she stays inside a 40-foot high boundary wall in Lucknow."

The Congress leader alleged that while Mayawati claimed herself to be a leader of dalits, she had not visited a single dalit home in the past five years and lived in her mansion fenced by high walls.

He said the food security bill would provide food to the poorest sections of society and ensure that millions of people in UP receive 35 kgs of food grain and avoid starvation.

"Though the greatest beneficiaries would be her dalits, Mayawati considers this a joke..she thinks no one will benefit from it," he alleged.

Rahul said his purpose was not to merely win elections, but he wanted to change the face of UP by removing poverty and backwardness.

"Politics means removing backwardness and poverty and Indiraji had done this," he said.

Appealing to the people to place trust in Congress and vote for the party he said, "We have people who work, all we need is your trust."