Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi is garlanded by supporters during the second day of his visit to Amethi on Thursday
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today took a dig at Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Kumar Vishwas, comparing him with a
bhopu (trumpet) who had "come to Amethi today and would go back tomorrow.''
Mr Gandhi also made light of the AAP leader's remarks challenging him to retain his parliamentary seat, saying he had "a love affair'' with the constituency. "Mera to Amethi se prem ka rishta hai. Bahut log aate jaate rehte hain'' (many people have come and gone, but I have a love affair with Amethi,'' Mr Gandhi told NDTV in Amethi today. Accompanied by his sister Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra, the Congress vice-president arrived on a two-day visit to his parliamentary constituency yesterday. (
Rahul Gandhi in Amethi to counter AAP effect)
Hours after their arrival, Mr Vishwas, who has been camping in the area to muster support for his election bid, likened Mr Gandhi's visits to Amethi to "a political picnic,'' and criticized him for doing precious little for the constituency's uplift.
Mr Gandhi said he had not been advertising the work done by him in his constituency, as he had been advised by his father not to "trumpet'' his achievements. "I am according topmost priority to the expansion of highways network to facilitate industrialization,'' the Congress leader said. He also pointed out that over 12 lakh women had been provided work under the Self-Help Group scheme.
He also alleged that Mr Akhilesh Yadav's government in Uttar Pradesh had been putting obstacles in his efforts. "They are now threatening our plans on power supply and road-construction in the constituency,'' Mr Gandhi said.
The Congress vice-president reiterated his party's position on naming its prime ministerial candidate. "Everyone speculates about the Prime Minister's post. We have several leaders in our ranks for the job,'' Mr Gandhi remarked, and cited the names of P Chidambaram, Salman Khurshid, Digvijaya Singh and Sonia Gandhi to ram home his point. "But only MP's elect their leader,'' he added.