Mayawati announced package for Bundelkand on Congress pressure-Rita

Lucknow, Jan 8 (UNI) With the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party(BSP) in Uttar Pradesh launching an attack on the Congress for denying a central package for the drought hit Bundelkhand, the Congress today claimed that the recent announcement of over Rs 70 crore and other sops for the region by the state government was only due to party leader Rahul Gandhi's visit to Jhansi on January 17.

''The Mayawati government's recent concern for people of the Bundelkhand region was only due to the agitational programme of the Congress,'' said Congress state president Rita Bahuguna Joshi.

In statement here today, Ms Joshi said that Congress was committed for the upliftment of the people of the Bundelkhand region.'' we have forced the BSP government to do something for the people reeling under acute financial crisis due to the drought'', she said.

Claiming that about 60 starvation deaths have been reported from the Bundelkhand region so far, the UP Congress president maintained that the present BSP government is insensitive and it only reacted when Congressmen started their agitational programme.

Ms Joshi, who returned from her three day tour of the Bundelkhand region yesterday, said that the people are suffering there and the BSP government was only interested in doing politics.

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi will pay a day long visit to Jhansi on January 17 to head the state coordination committee meeting.

Earlier, the BSP government in UP had demanded a financial package of more than Rs 7000 crore from the centre for the development of Bundelkhand region.

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