People leave amid Rahul's speech in Jodhpur

Rahul does a Delhi in Jodhpur, people leave amid his speech:

JODHPUR/PUSHKAR: In a repeat performance of the Delhi episode, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi evoked ennui among his audience in Jodhpur while addressing an election rally on Monday afternoon.

Rahul was forced to wrap up his speech at the city's Umaid Stadium, as people started leaving the venue around 13 minutes after he took over the mike.

The gathering that largely comprised youngsters repeatedly hooted him even as the Congress leader had barely begun the address.

After around 10 minutes, the people lost patience and started leaving. Unlike his Delhi counterpart, the Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, though, made no appeal to the people to remain seated and left it for the party vice-president to conclude his speech.

Rahul had arrived an hour-and-a-half behind schedule for the election rally on the chief minister's home turf. Some participants were from far-flung areas of the district as well as from neighbouring Pali and Barmer regions, which together have 23 assembly seats.

These people reached the venue early morning. Rahul was to come at 2 pm, but he appeared at the dais only around 3:30 pm.

Disappointing the audience, the Congress vice-president began his speech repeating the statements and allegations against BJP that he made at Chittorgarh, Churu, Alwar and Salumber.

Rahul said Congress was the only party that was moving ahead holding all the castes and communities, that BJP was dividing the people while his party was working to break the wall that was holding the poor in the vicious cycle of poverty.

He then hit out at the state BJP saying it was misleading people on the power generation issue. "Their manifesto says they would provide 24-hour electricity if voted to power.

But the truth is that the present Congress government has already reached the level where it is able to give electricity 24-hours to its people," Rahul claimed.

He added, "During the BJP rule, the total power generation in the state was at a meager 1,520 MW. The Gehlot government took it up to over 7,200 MW, thereby taking the state closer to the dream of a 24-hour electricity supply."

In a reference to local issues, Rahul said that Jodhpur has witnessed unprecedented development and it would be the country's third city to have a metro after Delhi and Jaipur.

Besides chief minister Gehlot, some Congress candidates from Jodhpur, Pali and Barmer districts also addressed the gathering.

Party candidate from the Osian seat, Leela Maderna, wife of jailed minister Mahipal Maderna, was the only one not to do so. Even 82-year-old Amri Devi, candidate from Luni and mother of jailed legislator Malkhan Singh Bishnoi, addressed the rally and appealed to people to strengthen Gehlot. Some of the candidates sought votes for themselves while addressing the rally.

Earlier in the day, the Congress leader addressed a similar rally at Pushkar near Ajmer.

Unlike in Jodhpur, people in this holy town cheered and jostled to get a glimpse of Rahul at the packed Mela ground. Projecting Congress as the poor's messiah, Rahul said that the party would stand by them whether it won the election or not.

In targeting former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, he repeated what Congress chief Sonia Gandhi said at Kota on November 23.

"Poison is in their (BJP leaders) minds, not the Gehlot government's free medicine scheme." He asked people, "Did you see or hear the BJP candidate (Raje) in past four years?" Rahul said, "She is now going around saying she wants to work for you.

Congress leaders do not appear only before the elections but work for you round the clock."

Source:timesofindia

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