Rahul Gandhi exhorts youth to support him

Muradnagar (UP), Mar 18: Addressing his first political rally in UP outside his parliamentary constituency Amethi, Rahul Gandhi today called on the people of the state, especially the youth, to ''help his party restore the state to its prime position it enjoyed under the Congress.'' ''Uttar Pradesh, where our historic struggle for freedom began and ended, once showed the way to the rest of the country, but now languishes behind other states,'' he said, addressing a public meeting, attended by four to five thousand people, at a local college ground here, in the first phase of his three-day whistle-stop road show in Western UP, ahead of the April 7 poll.

Asking the people if they were happy and content with their lot and receiving 'nos' in return, Rahul noted the state received ''a large amount of funds from the Centre, but no development was taking place in the state for the last 15 years, ever since the Congress relinquished power.'' ''Youths comprise 60 per cent of the population of the state and I call on them to march shoulder-to-shoulder with me to revive the fortunes of the state,'' he said in his brief address.

A prominent worker of the party in the area tied a pink turban on Rahul's head as well as presented him a sword and a conch shell.

UPCC president Salman Khurshid, Hapur MP Surendra Prakash Goel and Rajya Sabha MP Rashid Alvi were also present on the dais.

Rahul reached the venue almost three hours behind schedule, having made three to four stops en route to meet the local residents. He was warmly received by the people, who eagerly awaited his arrival and rushed forward to garland him. At his first stop after leaving Ghaziabad town, he was presented a ''hookah'' by the people waiting to meet him.

The young Gandhi, who kicked off his party's campaign for the crucial elections to the state assembly, entered Uttar Pradesh from Indirapuram, where a modest crowd was present to receive him, even though he was two hours behind schedule.

Welcomed by Mr Khurshid, and activists of the NSUI, Youth Congress and the Purvanchal Jan Chetna Samiti, an association formed to safeguard the rights of people hailing from the eastern parts of the state, Rahul went around the 100 to 150-strong gathering, shaking hands with those present but did not address them.

Seated in a Land-Cruiser, being driven by family friend and former Union Minister Satish Sharma, the Amethi MP then led his cavalcade on to Muradnagar.

UNI