Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the ruling BJP in Uttarakhand of corruption, kicking off his party’s campaign in the hill state which goes to polls early next year.
“We (Centre) had sent thousands of crores for the MNREGS (rural job guarantee programme), Kumbh preparations, Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and for roads. Did it reach here? Big (BJP) leaders are involved in land scam. It was your money, not of any BJP leader or chief minister,” he said at a rally here.
“Earlier, Uttarakhand was number one in terms of development, now it has slipped to the 14th position. Uttarakhand is competing with Karnataka (in corruption). Here, a CM is removed for corruption and then promoted,” he added.
Assuring full financial assistance for Uttarakhand, Gandhi, however, added a caveat — “There is no dearth of funds, but at the same time there is no dearth of thieves.”
He said it was the right time for change in Uttarakhand, where Congress lost power in 2007 but put up a sterling show in the Lok Sabha polls in 2009 bagging all five seats.
“You are though better than Uttar Pradesh because you have schools and factories. But the state needs to be taken forward. Therefore, elect a government that looks ahead,” Gandhi said.
{{/usCountry}}“You are though better than Uttar Pradesh because you have schools and factories. But the state needs to be taken forward. Therefore, elect a government that looks ahead,” Gandhi said.
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