Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) general secretary Jayant Chaudhary on Monday termed Congress' "campaign" to reach out to Dalits in Uttar Pradesh as unfortunate, saying political parties should have direct links with the rural populace.
"As leaders it is our responsibility to visit villages, meet people and enquire about their problems, but launching a special campaign is unfortunate," Chaudhary told reporters here.
Advocating direct links between political parties and the rural poor, he claimed that the RLD had direct contact with people in the countryside.
"Rahul Gandhi had recently said that he is not targeting dalits and is only trying to reach out to the poor, but his party had launched a special campaign in the state," he said, adding that the idea to get in touch with the rural populace through special campaigns is unfortunate.
Objecting to Rahul's statement that connecting rivers was not a wise step, RLD leader said he did not agree with the Congress general secretary's view as river linking could be effective in solving water crisis in several regions.
Criticising the Centre for favouring creation of an independent Bundelkhand Development Authority, he said it means that the UPA has no faith in the country's federal system.
{{/usCountry}}Criticising the Centre for favouring creation of an independent Bundelkhand Development Authority, he said it means that the UPA has no faith in the country's federal system.
{{/usCountry}}Expressing his party's preference for smaller states, Chaudhary said instead of setting up an authority a separate state should be carved out.