Rahul Gandhi took the entire Jhansi administration by surprise when he suddenly visited Ghishouli village in Babina block of Jhansi district on his way to Madhya Pradesh by road on Tuesday.
UPCC president Rita Bahuguna and a few other Congress leaders accompanied Rahul on his surprise visit.
Pursuing the Dalit agenda of the Congress, Rahul Gandhi went straight to the house of Ram Prakash Ahirwar in the village and stayed with him and his family members for more than an hour. He not only enquired about the local problems but also discussed possible plans which could be implemented to improve the situation of farmers in the drought-hit region.
Rahul met many other people in the Dalit-dominated Ghishouli village, besides some local officials who managed to reach there on time and answered the Congress MP’s questions about implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) and other schemes to provide jobs to the rural unemployed.
The district administration heaved a sigh of relief when Rahul left for Madhya Pradesh with his entourage.
The Jhansi district magistrate said he was surprised by the visit.
The district administration heaved a sigh of relief when Rahul left for Madhya Pradesh with his entourage.
The Jhansi district magistrate said he was surprised by the visit.
It may be recalled that Rahul had stayed overnight in a Dalit’s house in Sultanpur recently and gone all the way from Delhi to Etawah to sympathise with a Dalit family, four of whose members were killed.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati had described Rahul Gandhi’s visits as drama and vote bank politics, adding that the Congress had never bothered about Dalits.