Targetting UP Chief Minister Mayawati and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav,Rahul Gandhi today said they have forgotten the people after becoming big leaders and they don't feel for them. They (Mayawati and Mulayam) have become big leaders. They can travel in helicopters. But they do not feel angry now when they see sufferings. They do not feel anything when farmers' land spanning 2,000 kilometres is taken away. The time is gone when these leaders felt for the people. They don't feel anything when contractors are minting money. I have learnt many things from Mulayamji. But he is not there in your midst. He does not come to you. His anger (against injustice) is over, Gandhi said. Addressing a rally here on the second day of his five-day tour,Gandhi said the Congress-led government brought the Land Acquisition Bill but it was being resisted by Opposition parties. People were killed in Bhatta-Parsaul. What is happening in Uttar Pradesh? Samajwadi Party leaders are sitting in their rooms. Who brought the Land Acquisition Bill? We brought it. Who is opposing it? The Opposition is. They do not want you to gain, he said. He said Mayawati does not bother about what was happening in the state. Claiming he visited a hospital where there were no patients but a painting job was on because the chief minister visiting the hospital. There were no patients,no nurses,no doctors. But the walls were being painted because the administration wanted to show her the hospital was in good condition. She does not know what is happening. She does not come to your house. She does not eat with you, he said. Taking a dig at Mulayam,he said the SP chief aligned with former BJP leader Kalyan Singh for power in the last elections. Emphasising that his party wanted to change Uttar Pradesh for the better,Gandhi said he was angry that Uttar Pradesh was lagging behind when other parts of the country were moving ahead at a brisk pace. People from UP are going to Maharashtra,Haryana,Delhi. You drive taxi in Maharashtra,you build roads and metro in Delhi. our state is now lagging behind. We have to bring it back on track, he said. Gandhi said the UPA government is providing funds under various schemes like NRHM,MGNREGA,Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan,PMGSY among others to UP but the money was going in the pockets of state ministers and officials. Roads in the state are getting damaged within three months of construction,he alleged. Striking a chord with the people of the town,Gandhi said there was an old association of his family with Bahraich as his father and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had taken the historical decision to give voting rights to youth attaining the age of 18 here. Later in public meetings at Nanpara and Railway ground in Motera,Gandhi hit out at the Opposition for calling him immature and a kid. The Congress leader said in spite of the Opposition's criticism that he was 'indulging in drama',he would continue his trips to villages and eat with them. Citing an incident to highlight the poor state of affairs in UP,Gandhi said a youth once told him he has only four to five bulbs at his house but he got a bill of Rs 26,000. People in UP villages do not get power but bills, he said. In the health sector where women should get money under the 'Janani Suraksha' scheme,they are asked to pay,he alleged. He cited an incident when a dog was found under a bed at a government primary health centre.
