Blaming BJP, SP and BSP for the plight of Muslims and the poorest among backwards and dalits in Uttar Pradesh, Rahul Gandhi today alleged that these parties had confined themselves to serving their respective vote banks when in power during the last couple of decades.
"Every party talks about Muslims. There are about 70 districts in UP. How many of them have Muslim District Magistrates or Superintendents of Police? I meet people from the most backward castes and the poorest among the dalits who ask me why they are not able to get the benefits of progress despite working hard.
"This is because the state has been ruled by parties which have been representing interests of only 10% people, parties which have confined themselves to their respective vote banks, parties which can not think beyond one caste or the other," Gandhi said at an election rally here, 25 kms from Allahabad.
He accused the BJP, the SP and the BSP of being "completely out of sync with the needs and the aspirations of the common people" and having "no respect for the wisdom of the masses" while making "false" promises.
"I respect you and hence I will not make numerous empty promises like the other parties. I only want to say that it is the people of UP and not the leaders who will change their destiny.
"The Congress only wants to help you to unshackle your own hands. You have been toiling in the fields of Punjab and Haryana.Your efforts have made Delhi Metro possible. You build roads elsewhere but are forced to contend with potholes near your own homes. We want to help you in changing that", Gandhi said.
Training his guns on Mayawati, he alleged that her government is more concerned about the "rich builders" than poor farmers.
"At present, Mayawati is in power. Her government seems to have greater concern for rich builders than for poor farmers. When I visited Bhatta Parsaul, poor farmers told me how their land was acquired and given away to builders without even their getting any prior notice.
"When some of them protested, they were beaten up by police and put behind bars", he said.
"When the UPA government at the Centre launched MNREGA scheme, Mayawati called it a drama. When we brought the Food Security Bill, she said it was useless.
"Why is it that the BJP, the SP and the BSP behave in this fashion? It is because these parties think that the people are fools," the Congress general secretary said.
"Leaders of these parties have never bothered to visit remote villages and meet the poorest of the poor. Had they done so, they would have been able to appreciate the wisdom of the common man.
"I have been to the houses of farmers and artisans during the past seven years of my political career.
"And I have learnt more from them than I did from my teachers at prestigious educational institutions in America and England", Gandhi said, evoking applause from the predominantly rural crowd.
He said while elections are known to usher in change, in the past 22 years, the state has been witness to many elections yet things have remained stagnant.
"I wish to assure you that though we may not ensure that every paisa spent by the government will start reaching you, as UP at present is too full of crooks but you can suddenly look forward to 99 out of 100 rupees reaching you and serving the purpose for which it is allocated," he said.
Taking a dig at the rival parties, Gandhi said the BJP coined the slogan of India Shining during the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, borrowing the catchphrase from a commercial advertisement.
"The SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav says he will provide free and uninterrupted power supply for 24 hours though he could not start a single power project during his three stints as the Chief Minister," he said.
"I do not care how many seats you help our party to win in the elections.
"I will keep fighting for you until your voice starts getting heard in Lucknow, just as it is already being heard in New Delhi", he said.
