Rahul slams opponents in UP for terming his campaign to be 'drama'

Pratapgarh, Feb 16 (ANI): Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi on Thursday hit out at the political opponents in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh after they termed his ongoing political campaign to be a 'drama'.

"When the Chief Minister (Mayawati) addresses the gathering at any public rally, she says that the programme MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) is a drama of the ruling Congress Party," said Gandhi, while addressing a rally in Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh District.

"Mulayam Singh Yadav (Samajwadi Party chief) says that Rahul Gandhi's act of visiting the villages in Uttar Pradesh state is a drama. If visiting villages is a drama then I will keep doing such dramas and I will keep visiting your homes. Let everyone speak whatever they want to speak," he added.

Gandhi also blamed the regional parties for playing caste-based politics in the state, and added that they had failed to address their woes.

"The governments, which have ruled the state since 22 years, say that since they belong to a particular caste, people from other castes will not benefit. If people are admitted, then they would be from their caste only. If a programme is launched, then it would be for the people of their caste. You can forget the people from other caste," Gandhi said.

"Despite 22 years of rule by other governments and despite promising you of bringing change, no development has taken place and your condition is the same as it was more than two decades ago," he added.

Gandhi has been under sharp criticism by leaders of various political outfits for tearing the manifesto of a political party during his public meeting in Uttar Pradesh

The Uttar Pradesh polls are being viewed as an opportunity for major parties to re-establish their foothold in the country's fifth largest and most populous state.

A new 403-member state assembly will be elected in March. The poll results will broadly indicate trends for the 2014 general elections. (ANI)