Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, on Monday, lashed out at senior BJP leader L.K. Advani and said that the latter had taken out a yatra against corruption across the country but could never see the rampant corruption in Uttar Pradesh and BJP-ruled states like Uttarakhand and Karnataka.
Addressing a rally in Bareilly, Mr Gandhi said that when the time came to support the Lokpal Bill and fight effectively against corruption, the BJP members sat laughing in their seats instead of pressing the right button.
He said that it was the Congress alone that fought against corruption and took stern action against anyone who was found indulging in corruption.
He said that now that elections are on, leaders like Mulayam Singh Yadav are busy promising the moon for the people.
“He is promising free electricity and say that he will turn Bundelkhand into Israel. He has been chief minister of UP thrice — why did he not give free electricity then? He wants to turn Bundelkhand into Israel but when the region faced drought, Mulayam Singh found no time to visit the people there,” he said.
Addressing the minorities in Bareilly, which has a sizeable Muslim population, Mr Rahul Gandhi said that the congress had given 4.5 per cent reservation to backward Muslims. The Congress Party set up the Sachchar Committee and implemented its recommendations.
The Centre sent money for scholarships of children in minority communities but the money went missing in UP even though it reached the minorities in Kerala, Assam and Andhra Pradesh. “Mulayam Singh claims to be a leader of Muslims but what has he done for Muslims in the past two decades when he was chief minister thrice. He now says the 4.5 per cent reservation is insufficient — why did he not give more when he was chief minister?” he asked.