Rahul attends first district development meeting as Raebareli MP, inaugurates project

Raebareli (UP), Nov 5 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday attended a District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA) meeting, inaugurated a beautification project, and laid the foundation stone for road construction in his parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

This was his first such elaborate meeting with district officials and local public representatives since taking the office as Raebareli MP earlier this year.

However, the visit was also marked by criticism from Uttar Pradesh Horticulture Minister and BJP MLC Dinesh Pratap Singh, who accused Rahul and former Raebareli MP Sonia Gandhi of neglecting their constituencies.

Singh noted that Rahul has rarely stayed overnight in Raebareli, pointing out that his short visits indicate a "lack of genuine representation". A poster shown by Singh stated that, in the last six months, Rahul has only spent about five hours in Raebareli.

Earlier in the morning, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha paid obeisance at a Pipleshwar Hanuman temple at Churwa and met party workers on the way to Raebareli from Lucknow.

During his visit, Rahul inaugurated a beautification project at the Degree College intersection in Raebareli and laid the foundation stone for road construction projects under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.

He then presided over the DISHA meeting, where various central schemes like MGNREGA and the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana were reviewed alongside Congress leader and Amethi MP Kishori Lal Sharma. Singh, who unsuccessfully ran for the MP's office from Raebareli against Gandhi, also attended the meeting.

While Gandhi skipped any interaction with media during the visit, he later took to Facebook where in a Hindi post he said: "No matter how old my relationship with Raebareli is, it deepens every time I visit the place.

All the people of the area have given me a lot of love and told me about their problems with full authority." "As an MP, while presiding over the first DISHA committee meeting of Rae Bareli, I discussed the problems and progress of the entire area with all the public representatives and officials. I also unveiled the newly-constructed Shaheed Chowk and roads," he said.

"Raebareli has honoured me by making me their voice -- I am always eager to ensure their prosperity, fulfil their needs and solve their problems," he added.

Rahul also emphasised his commitment to addressing the area's issues through the DISHA meeting, which was his first with local officials since becoming MP. Late in the afternoon, he left for Lucknow.

Asked about Rahul's visit, Amethi MP Kishori Lal Sharma said central schemes of 52 departments were reviewed at the DISHA meeting, in which representatives of all the parties and block heads were also present.

According to the Union Ministry for Rural Development, DISHAs were formed to ensure better coordination among members of Parliament, state legislatures and local governments.

Meanwhile, BJP's Singh further alleged that during Congress rule, Raebareli saw minimal development, with Sonia Gandhi not even adopting a single village under the MP Model Village Scheme since 2019, despite receiving seven reminders from the District Magistrate.

He suggested that both Rahul and Sonia Gandhi have shown disregard for the area's development, which he claimed stands in contrast to the work done under the Modi and Yogi administrations.

In 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Rahul defeated Singh by over 3.90 lakh vote margin, while in 2019, Sonia Gandhi secured victory in the family bastion with over 1.67 lakh votes against the BJP leader, who was formerly a Congress member.

Taking on the Gandhi family, Singh on Tuesday highlighted recent projects and schemes initiated in Raebareli, underscoring the efforts made by the BJP government. He noted that over the past two years, 182 overhead water tanks have been constructed in Raebareli, bringing clean water to local households '” a stark increase compared to previous governments, which he said failed to construct even ten tanks over a decade.

Additionally, Singh claimed that under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, Raebareli received Rs 27,000 crore from 2004 to 2014 when the Congress was in power. In comparison, Prime Minister Modi has allocated Rs 41,000 crore for the district, even without the support of a local MP.

In terms of infrastructure, Singh detailed a network of four-lane roads and expressways currently under construction in the district. Over the past two years alone, Rs 6,280 crore has been allocated to road development in Raebareli, including key projects like the Raebareli-Ayodhya four-lane road (Rs 1,440 crore), Raebareli Ring Road Phase-2 (Rs 1,274 crore), Raebareli-Prayagraj four-lane road (Rs 3,200 crore), and others. PTI COR ABN KIS NB NB