Footloose Rahul has Congmen on toes

As word spread that Rahul was wandering about in their constituencies and asking villagers if they had visited them during the recent floods,Congress leaders were raring to go but were told not to follow the leader.

Rahul not only successfully dodged the administration and the police,but also ensured that local Congressmen were not around while he met the people.

Till Thursday morning,when reports came in that he had spent the night in a village in Shravasti,state Congress leaders were left guessing about Rahul’s whereabouts. “Forget about the state government,his visit gave sleepless nights to even Congressmen,” said a senior leader.

During his tour,Rahul asked people about the state government’s work and the functioning of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme,PDS etc. A man accompanying him shot video footage of the roads in Behraich that had been damaged in the recent floods,a bridge in bad condition in Shravasti and other government works.

“He wants to get the real picture from the people about the state government and the party cadre. Though our MPs are working hard in the flood-affected areas,our people would now be alert all the time,” said state Congress president Rita Bahuguna Joshi.

As for the state government’s objection that it was not informed about his programme in advance,Joshi said,“Mayawati sees Dalits more as her vote bank than as human beings. She is more bothered about losing their votes than about their problems. She is ruffled every time Rahul reachs out to poor,but she herself does not do this.”

Congressmen say the visit was also Rahul’s answer to Chief Minister Mayawati’s criticism that he and his mother cannot see beyond Rae Bareli and Amethi.

Last year,Rahul had visited Jhansi in Budelkhand,after which the state government came out with a string of announcements for the region.

The Amethi MP had also visited Gorakhpur,where encephalitis epidemic kills hundreds of children every year.

The three places Rahul visited this time — Baranbanki,Behraich and Shravasti — are also among those where the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation is planning to promote self-help groups of women in a big way — so far,it is mostly confined to Amethi and Rae Bareli.

On his way back,Rahul met some senior party leaders at the Lucknow airport and told them that what he saw was pathetic. He did not speak to the media.