Amethi: Rahul Gandhi‘s Amethi visit was marred by protests for the second consecutive day even as the Congress general secretary on Friday promised major changes in the organisational set up following shockingly dismal performace of the party in the Nehru-Gandhi pocket borough in UP polls.
If it was the delay in construction of an overbridge which led residents of Chitkapur and Radheypur villages to raise slogans before Munshiganj guest house, where the Amethi MP has put up, earlier in the day, activists of Bhartiya Kisan Union (women wing) protested outside the party workers’ meeting in Jamo area later against shifting of army’s branch recruitment office.
Rahul Gandhi.
A group 35 to 40 people led by the village head Girish Chand Misra wanted to meet Rahul in connection with the long pending demand of an overbridge near Amethi railway station and raised anti-Rahul slogans when denied entry.
On the mediation of the local Congress leaders and administrative officials, they were, however, allowed to meet Rahul and were given an assurance that it would be taken up soon.
According to sources, Rahul questioned his staff as to why the project has not been taken up yet.
In the evening, a group of youths led by district president of Bhartiya Kisan Union’s women cell Rita Singh raised slogans against the Congress MP as a party workers meeting was being held in KP Inter college complex.
The Congress leader, however, ignored the protest.
Another delegation of farmers whose land is likely to be acquired for 40 kms long Jafrabad-Musafirkhana by-pass met Gandhi and handed over a memorandum against it, sources said.
On Thursday, students of government girls inter college had sat on dharna at Jais to protest lack of facilities and teachers following which Rahul’s route was diverted.
Addressing partymen on the second day of his two-day visit, Rahul indicated massive changes in the organisation soon in an exercise aimed at strengthening the Congress in its stronghold where the party fared badly in the assembly polls, party sources said.
The Congress won only two of the five assembly seats in Amethi in the recent UP polls and lost all the five assembly seats in party chief Sonia Gandhi‘s constituency Rae Bareli.
Nearly 200 workers led by Jamo block president Chotelal Tewari attended Rahul’s meeting said today.
PTI
