Rahul chairs DISHA meet in Raebareli

Raebareli (UP), Sep 11 (PTI) Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Thursday chaired a meeting of the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA) here, which was boycotted by Unchahar MLA Manoj Kumar Pandey.

The DISHA meeting is chaired by the senior-most MP of the district. It is held every quarter to discuss the development projects in the region.

Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit of his Parliamentary constituency, chaired the meeting at the Bachat Bhavan auditorium in the collectorate.

Several public representatives, including Amethi MP K L Sharma and Minister of State Dinesh Pratap Singh attended the meeting. However, Pandey walked out of the meeting.

Pandey, a former Samajwadi Party leader, was expelled from the party for working against the party principles and supporting the BJP in the Rajya Sabha elections.

Speaking to reporters later, Pandey claimed that he raised the issue of alleged derogatory remarks made against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother in Bihar.

He said he had submitted a written proposal to the Leader of the Lok Sabha and all present, requesting they condemn the insult to the prime minister's mother.

Pandey also criticised Gandhi, claiming he had not addressed the shortage of ICU beds at the AIIMS here and questioned how many times the Congress leader had raised the voice of Raebareli in Parliament since becoming an MP.

He further challenged Gandhi to apologise to the country for his accusations against the Election Commission and to list the work he has done for Raebareli since 2024. PTI COR CDN DV DV