BJP slams PM for projecting Rahul as UP's future

Basti (UP) Apr 16: Coming down heavily on Dr Manmohan Singh for describing Congress MP Rahul Gandhi as the ''future of Uttar Pradesh'' senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi today said he failed to fathom what ''future'' the Prime Minsiter was referring to. Campaigning for the BJP in this backward district of eastern UP, Dr Joshi said he could understand gullible politicians showering such encomiums on the scion of the first family of the Congress for survival, but not Dr Singh, who held the most important constitutional post.

Referring to the Prime Minister's statement from Afzalgarh where he sought support for Congress projecting Rahul as ''future of UP'', Dr Joshi said the young MP from the Congress' first family did not know what he was speaking but was busy attributing all the credit for the freedom struggle to the Nehru-Gandhi family forgetting sacrifices of all other great personalities, like Mahatma Gandhi and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

After these claims by Rahul Gandhi, it was time for the country to make an ''objective evaluation'' of the contributions of each individual to the freedom struggle, he said.

Since the Congress has no solution for the backwardness of UP, Rahul was trying to confuse people by talking about his family and its sacrifices. ''It is a matter of history that Jawahar Lal Nehru was responsible for partition of the country notwithstanding the opposition of Mahatma Gandhi. It is time to find answers to questions like who created Bhindranwale, who did what in Sri Lanka and make an objective assessment of the contributions of Nehru-Gandhi family,'' he stressed.

Dr Joshi said it was also important to assess what good the Nehru-Gandhi family had done for Uttar Pradesh when the Congress was ruling the State.

Rahul, he said was claiming credit for the break up of Pakistan for his family whereas, in reality it was the internal developments in the undivided Pakistan which led to the creation of Bangladesh and India only lent a helping hand at a later stage.

Turning to UP political situation Dr Joshi said Kalyan Singh, the BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate, was the only person free of corruption charge, while UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh and Mayawati faced charges of amassing wealth disproportionate to their sources of income.

During the last four years, the Samajwadi Party regime led by Chief Minister Mulayam Singh made no honest attempts to eliminate poverty, unemployment and bring development. Whatever work was done it was confined to Sefai, the home town of the Chief Minister and Noida.

He alleged that SP used vote bank politics as a weapon to gain politically even at the cost of hurting the state. The state Cabinet had many people who harboured terrorist elements and the government had withdrawn cases against SIMI a banned organisation in the country.

The other contender for power, BSP chief Mayawati, too promised reservation based on religion.

The PM, Dr Joshi said, was openly advocating first right over the country's resources for Muslims. The BJP wanted this first right to be given to the poor, irrespective of their religious background.

UNI