Sonia joins Rahul in criticising Mayawati

NEW DELHI: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday attacked the Uttar Pradesh government for discriminating against her constituency, Rae Bareli, when it came to the distribution of fertiliser. She also blamed the state government for not providing adequate power in her area.

Her remarks against the government come weeks after her son, Rahul Gandhi, blamed the ruling side for providing inadequate power supply to industrial units in Amethi. BSP president and chief minister Mayawati responded to Rahul Gandhi’s charge about power shortage in UP by blaming the Centre for its “discriminatory” policies towards the state.

The Congress and BSP have been trading charges over development issues in the wake of the former slowly raising the pitch of its opposition towards the BSP. The Congress had refused to criticise the BSP in the months following the Presidential elections but this changed after Rahul Gandhi was inducted into the party organisation and unofficially given the responsibility for UP. He has subsequently taken on the UP government over the power shortage issue and also written to Ms Mayawati on behalf of Agra’s shoe makers asking her not to levy VAT on certain handmade shoes. Ms Mayawati had snubbed the Congress MP and termed his request as “politically motivated”.

On the power issue, Ms Gandhi, while addressing a rally in Bhojpur in Rae Bareli, said that though she had got a 220 KV sub power station installed there under the Rajeev Gandhi rural electrification scheme farmers were still suffering. “... 14 hours of power supply was assured through the Rajiv Gandhi electrification project but now only nine hours of supply is being made available and it is most unfortunate,” Ms Gandhi said.

Attacking the Mayawati government for shortage of fertilisers in her constituency, she said: “I have been told that Rae Bareli is badly affected with the DAP (a brand of fertiliser) shortage,” and pointed out that the central government had released the full quota meant for UP “without any discrimination”. She added: “Yet Rae Bareli farmers are not getting the DAP”.

The Congress has been talking of reviving itself in UP after having been reduced to minor player in the state. As part of these efforts Rahul Gandhi had toured the state extensively during the UP elections earlier this year. He is now part of the Congress’ UP co-ordination committee and had addressed a press conference there recently.