'Awake, arise and change' — With these three words that will be the tagline of the Congress campaign in Uttar Pradesh, a confident and aggressive Rahul Gandhi called on the people of UP to change their own destiny and build their own future.
“Utho, jago aur badlo —unless you wake up and vote for development, you will never change your destiny. But the day you vote for development, UP will forge ahead and your future will brighten,” the Amethi MP told a massive gathering at Phulpur, Jawaharlal Nehru’s constituency near Allahabad, launching the Congress’ Assembly poll campaign on Pandit Nehru’s 122nd birth anniversary.
“Till then, it will be the same government of caste biases, with no place for the aam aadmi,” Rahul added, noting that Punjab, Haryana and Maharashtra were forging ahead on the strength of a workforce coming from UP.
“For how long will you work in Punjab and Haryana or beg in Maharashtra? You can change the system and build a state that once used to lead the nation. Today you have the mafia ruling the state and turning into MPs as well. Corruption is paramount here,” he said.
Rahul attacked the Mayawati government over crimes against women and lawlessness, and said successive UP governments had forgotten the people for the past 22 years. “I look at things from Delhi, then I come here, I talk to you, eat your food... because I want to understand your problems. At times I think I should go to Lucknow and fight for you, but things won’t change unless you change your mindset,” he said.
In an obvious reference to UP chief minister Mayawati, who has been asking why he frequently visits dalit homes, Rahul said: “Till the time a leader doesn’t eat at a poor man’s home and sees his plight on his own, he cannot understand poverty... Till a leader doesn’t drink dirty water from a well, he can’t understand what poverty is. In UP, leaders have no time for the people, but I have learnt the most from UP.”