Addressing a rally in Azamgarh, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday sought to convey to the region's weavers - a strong voter constituency in the area - that "no party had done as much for them as the Congress".
The Centre in November had announced a package of more
than Rs. 6,000 crore for weavers.
Speaking in Mubarakpur, Gandhi said: "It is the Congress that has come to the rescue of weavers. But neither BJP, nor SP or the BSP ever took up their cause."
Taking a dig at the BJP's 'India Shining' slogan in the 2004 Lok Sabha election, the Congress general secretary asked: "Has any BJP leader ever visited the house of any weaver? They remain in Lucknow and New Delhi in their cosy environment but never take the pains to visit a poor weaver's house."
Gandhi said weavers were dying of hunger and compelled to leave the state for work. "Is this what you call India shining?" he asked.
Lambasting the state government, the Congress leader said: "When I announced the package for weavers, chief minister Mayawati had ridiculed it."
"I simply cannot understand how one can understand the pain of a farmer or weaver without visiting his house," Gandhi said.