Rahul a liberal, looks upon all as equals: Priyanka

Amethi: Hitting out at critics of Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi today said her brother's style of politics was “liberal” and not “opaque” and that he worked for the development of every section and looked upon all as equals.During her marathon roadshow covering 130 kms in Amethi, which goes to polls in a week, Priyanka spoke to voters about the “relationship of love” they had with the Gandhis and cautioned them about the intentions of other candidates “who come only during elections”.She enumerated the development work carried out in the constituency by her family members, including her father Rajiv Gandhi, and even admitted that more needs to be done. “His (Rahul's) politics is not opaque, it is liberal. He looks at all as equals and wants that everyone is benefited and stays united,” she said.She said that the people have supported her family for generations because they have seen them work for the development of the area.“Many candidates are coming in your area. There are many types of campaigns going on. There is criticism as well that development work has not been undertaken. “Main janti hun ki aap samajhte hai..jo sahi niyat se apke samne ata hai.jo kaam karta hai aap use achi tarah se pehchanti hai.to aap niyat samjh le inki. kisliye aye hai yahan. (I know you understand those who have come with right intentions in front of you. You recognise those who work. So you understand their intentions why they have come here),” she said at a rally here.She said that these candidates only come here because it is the constituency of Rahul Gandhi. She said that neither do they have any love and concern for this area or its people nor do they have any relationship.She maintained that if they had to undertake any development work for the area, they would only be able to utilise the MP fund of Rs fuve crore and will only be able to construct 5 kilometres of roads with that amount in one year. “These things I think you understand more than me. You have supported my family for generations and you have seen their work as well. If work was not done, then you would have never supported. This is a relationship of love and I hope that you will make Rahul win,” she said. Drawing parallels between her brother and father Rajiv Gandhi, she said Rahul is a visionary like the late Prime Minister who represented Amethi constituency in Parliament. “Rahulji has done a lot of development work. The works done by him will help people reap benefit in the coming 10 to 20 years. He is a visionary like his father whose initiatives are bearing fruit today,” Priyanka said. She, however, acknowledged that there are still several issues which need to be addressed including the electricity crisis in the constituency and also blamed the state government for its slackness in development work.“I know there is a power problem here. Rahul initiated steps to bring electricity. But the supply of the electricity is state government's responsibility,” she said.She said that some year's back Congress President Sonia Gandhi had spoken to SP Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav about providing 24 hour power supply to both Amethi and Rae Bareli.But some political parties went to high court asking why these areas were being given special treatment, Priyanka said and added that till these issues are resolved providing uninterrupted power supply would be a problem. Priyanka said that candidates of opposition parties were spreading various types of propaganda. She said that they alleged that no development work has been done in Amethi, but the people know what Rahul has done for the area.“You all understand what Rahulji has done for the development of Amethi. Candidates of other parties neither have any relation with you, nor they have done anything for you. Understand their designs. They have come here only because this is the area of Rahulji,” she said. Priyanka also met some workers of Aam Aadmi Party standing on the roadside in Harakhpur village. During the roadshow, people in rural areas complained about damaged roads and acute power crisis. Priyanka assured them that it will be looked into.Priyanka started her roadshow and mass contact programme from Munshiganj, with 50 planned corner meetings. She was accompanied by the UPCC spokesperson and MLA Akhilesh Pratap Singh and Rahul's representative Chandra Kant Dubey.