UP govt puts spanner in Rahul’s plan

The Sultanpur district administration on Tuesday withheld the handover of the Bar Association building that Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi was scheduled to inaugurate in Gauriganj, reports Umesh Raghuvanshi.

In what appears to be a reflection of the strained ties between the Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh, the Sultanpur district administration on Tuesday withheld the handover of the Bar Association building that Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi was scheduled to inaugurate in Gauriganj.

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In response, Rahul launched an attack on the state government, saying it was causing obstructions in various development projects being implemented in Amethi and Rae Bareli.

Association office-bearers claimed the inauguration was scheduled only after Jal Nigam, the agency involved in the construction, said the building was ready to be handed over to the Bar Association.

It was only at the last minute that the administration said the building was yet to be handed over and hence the inauguration couldn’t be organised, a Bar office-bearer said. Senior district officials refused to comment.

Shiv Kishore, an advocate, said plans for the inauguration had been finalised in advance but BSP MLA from Gauriganj Chandra Prakash Mishra ‘Matiyari’ took up the matter with the district magistrate and questioned why Rahul was inaugurating the building.

Rahul, however, did attend a Bar Association function on the building premises, not inside the main building. On the occasion, he said: “Whenever there is any work pertaining to the UP government, there is pressure. And the work is stopped after pressure.”