Badaun, Uttar Pradesh:
Rahul Gandhi has begun his five-day tour of Uttar Pradesh - he's targeting the central part of the state that has traditionally been loyal to the Samajwadi Party and its chief, Mulayam Singh Yadav. That could be why he was greeted with black flags when he got to Aligarh; 16 protestors, reportedly Samajawadi workers, have been detained.
Mr Gandhi - who is leading the Congress' campaign in UP - attacked both the Samajwadi Party and chief minister Mayawati, and asked voters to give the Congress a chance for ten years. In this period, he promised, UP would change so affirmatively that people from other states will move here for jobs. Recently, Mr Gandhi created a political storm by saying that the lack of development in UP forces its people to go to other states like Maharashtra and Punjab where they "beg" for jobs.
"In the past 20 years, what did you get? You trusted SP. What did you get back in return? You trusted BSP. What did you get? (You got) corruption. Now, we are talking about development, we are talking about the future," said Mr Gandhi at a rally in Badaun, a constituency represented by Mr Yadav's nephew.
Launching an attack on Mayawati, who seeks her third consecutive term as chief minister, Mr Gandhi said, "The money is not reaching you. Influential people do not feel the problems but it is the poor who are suffering. The problem today is that the leaders do not come to the ground."
During his tour, Mr Gandhi will address 19 public meetings in as many assembly constituencies.
His trip will end with a rally at Akbarpur in Kanpur (rural) district on December 17.
Mr Gandhi - who is leading the Congress' campaign in UP - attacked both the Samajwadi Party and chief minister Mayawati, and asked voters to give the Congress a chance for ten years. In this period, he promised, UP would change so affirmatively that people from other states will move here for jobs. Recently, Mr Gandhi created a political storm by saying that the lack of development in UP forces its people to go to other states like Maharashtra and Punjab where they "beg" for jobs.
"In the past 20 years, what did you get? You trusted SP. What did you get back in return? You trusted BSP. What did you get? (You got) corruption. Now, we are talking about development, we are talking about the future," said Mr Gandhi at a rally in Badaun, a constituency represented by Mr Yadav's nephew.
Launching an attack on Mayawati, who seeks her third consecutive term as chief minister, Mr Gandhi said, "The money is not reaching you. Influential people do not feel the problems but it is the poor who are suffering. The problem today is that the leaders do not come to the ground."
During his tour, Mr Gandhi will address 19 public meetings in as many assembly constituencies.
His trip will end with a rally at Akbarpur in Kanpur (rural) district on December 17.
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