Rahul Gandhi

Only Cong can ensure development in UP: Rahul

Pratapgarh: Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi on Monday alleged hooliganism and casteism reared their ugly heads and development took a back seat during the successive non-Congress regimes in the state in the past 22 years. Only the Congress could ensure development in the state and for this people's mindset needed to be changed, he told a public meeting here. Asking people to get the maximum work done from him for...

Maya responsible for plight of women in UP: Rahul

Jaunpur: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday blamed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati for the sorry plight of women in the state. "Even though this state is ruled by a woman chief minister, there is no one to hear the voice of women," Gandhi said, addressing a pubic rally in this Uttar Pradesh district where polling is due Feb 15 in the third phase of the seven-phase assembly election. "With...

Rahul Gandhi a risk worth taking in UP polls: Aiyar

New Delhi: Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar said that Rahul Gandhi has made Uttar Pradesh his 'special turf' and the party's heavy reliance on him in the Assembly polls there would prove to be a 'risk worth taking'. He said that it will not be the end of the road for Rahul Gandhi if the Congress does not perform well in the Assembly elections in the politically-crucial state of Uttar...

BSP, SP's poll promises misleading: Rahul Gandhi

Jaunpur: Training his guns on the BSP and the Samajwadi Party, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said corruption and scams were rampant during their regimes. For the past five years, neither BSP supremo Mayawati nor SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav had visited any village but now during the election time, they were making tall promises, Rahul said. "When they were in power only corruption and scams were witnessed. The...

UP: Rahul, Priyanka hit the campaign trail together

New Delhi: Ahead of the third phase of Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi have hit the campaign trail together. Both Rahul and Priyanka are in Sultanpur to woo the voters. The two are expected to address a joint rally on Sunday for the first time in these elections, in the family pocket-borough of Sultanpur. The third phase of UP polls...

Cong will weep after UP election results: BJP

Ghaziabad: Irrespective of the fact whether Congress leader Sonia Gandhi has shed tears on the Batla house issue or not, her party will weep after the declarations of UP poll results, the BJP on Sunday said. "Digvijay Singh says that Sonia Gandhi did not shed tears on the Batla house issue, while other party members say that she wept over it, but it is sure that Congress will weep after...

Learnt my political lessons from farmers: Rahul

Amethi: Striking a cord with the farmers and people of his constituency, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday gave them the credit for the political lessons that he has learnt. The Congress general secretary said that he has returned to his "home" after touring the entire state in the past two months. "Whatever I have learnt is from my visits to the houses of farmers in Amethi. whatever I know...

UP polls: Phase 2 today, Maya faces stiff challenge

Lucknow: The second phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections began on a slow note on Saturday, covering nearly two crore voters who will decide the fate of 1099 candidates, including 31 sitting MLAs and 24 former ministers. Once a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bastion, it is the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) that has the highest number of MLAs in this region. However, Chief Minister Mayawati does face a stiff...

Rahul Gandhi could be PM in 2014: Beni Prasad

Jaunpur: In remarks that could further embarrass Congress, Union minister Beni Prasad Verma on Friday made a reference to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's age and said that Rahul Gandhi could be the Prime Minister in 2014. "Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is 80 years old.. in 2014 he would be 82...there is a limit and age to work..under these circumstances Rahulji could be made the Prime Minister," Verma said in Madiyahon...

UP: Mayawati blames Centre for lack of funds

Varanasi: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and BSP supremo Mayawati at a rally in Varanasi on Friday attacked the Congress government for not releasing the funds asked for development projects in the state. Mayawati said the State Government is not being given funds by the Central Government. "We have started many schemes for development with the help of private sector. We ask for funds for development projects but the Central Government...

Dalit dilemma: Mayawati faces a tough battle

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati faces a tough battle in the assembly elections. Though her rallies so far have been massive leading to the belief that her own Dalit votebank is intact, but some members of the community face a dilemma about Mayawati. She's still a symbol of Dalit empowerment, but have her policies benefited them all? The crowds have been mammoth at the rallies addressed by the Uttar...

Won't implement decision on retail FDI: Kerala CM

New Delhi: Congress-ruled Kerala on Thursday ruled out implementing the central government's decision on FDI in retail, saying it was not in the interest of the state. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said Kerala could not agree with the Centre's decision to allow 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail. "We will not implement it (FDI in retail). We have already conveyed our stand (to the Centre) that we cannot agree...

Decoding the media's Priyanka mania

Newsman |  Rajdeep Sardesai

In 1999, we experienced a 'television moment'. We were covering Sonia Gandhi's Amethi campaign when we happened to meet her daughter Priyanka. For the next ...

BJP slams Jaiswal's 'remote control CM' remark

New Delhi: The BJP on Thursday took strong exception to Union Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal's reported remark that the next UP Chief Minister will be from Congress whose "remote will be in Rahulji's hands", saying that the constitutional posts should be spoken of with respect. "Chief Minister's post is a constitutionally provided post...where is the respect for the institution when words like remote-control are used," BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said at...

Heavy turnout shows people want change: Rahul

Mirzapur/Sonebhadra: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said the heavy voter turnout in first phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh indicated that people in the state were craving for a change. "Whenever the poll turnout crosses 60 per cent, it indicates a change," he said referring to the 62 to 64 per cent voting in 55 constituencies spread over 10 districts. At a poll meeting in tribal-dominated Mirzapur, he said,...