Rahul Gandhi: My mom wept as she couldn't vote for food security bill

Shahdol (MP): Trying to strike an emotional chord with the Madhya Pradesh electorate on the eve of state assembly elections, Rahul Gandhi reminded his audience that his mother Sonia Gandhi was in tears as she failed to cast her vote in Lok Sabha when her pet project was being passed in August."I was sitting behind (in the house) and was watching my mother as I knew she was not well. After sometime, I saw her leave with (Kumari) Selja (minister of social justice and empowerment). I got little worried. "I told her (Sonia) let's go to hospital. But she refused. She said 'I will not leave until the food bill is passed'. She said 'do whatever you want to do, but I will not leave. She said 'she has fought for it for years," a visibly emotional Rahul Gandhi said, launching the election campaign in the state that will go to the polls Nov 25."By that time voting had started. This time I was adamant that she has to go to hospital. I dragged her to hospital. But even then she was not ready to go. She was crying. And I asked her and she told me that she wanted to vote (for the bill) but could not."It is the first time Rahul Gandhi has spoken publicly about his mother and Congress president's sudden illness while the Lok Sabha was debating the food bill Aug 26. After much delay and uncertainty, the Food Security Bill was passed by Lok Sabha on August 26.Gandhi, who is the main force behind the measure, could not participate in the voting as she had taken ill and had to leave the House at around 8.15 PM. She was later admitted in AIIMS and discharged after spending five hours in the hospital.The bill seeks to provide cheap foodgrains to 82 crore people in the country, ushering in the biggest programme in the world to fight hunger.Taking a dig at the BJP-led NDA for its 2004 India Shining campaign and its development model, Rahul said, "While they talk about development and shining India on the one hand, they ask from where will the money come when we talk about food and land acquisition measures."Rahul said that the Congress President was not willing to leave Parliament before casting her vote as Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath had assured her that the bill would be passed as sufficient number of members were for it.Striking an emotional chord, he said that her mother was determined to bring the measure as she wanted to wipe the tears of lakhs of mothers seeing their hungry children crying but in contrast, the opposition talks about shining roads and hotels."This is because we understand your hunger....," he said.In a show of unity, all top Madhya Pradesh Congress leaders, including Digvijay Singh, Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia, were present on the dais with the Congress Vice President.Asserting that he wants to begin a "new kind of politics", Rahul told the rally that he wants common men and tribals to enter Parliament and Assemblies while the opposition wants that these doors remain closed to them."I see one lacuna in the whole of India with regard to tribals. Your number is less in Parliament and Assemblies. We have to change in the coming time. As long as the voice of tribals is not heard in Parliament and Assemblies, their problems will not be solved," he said.Reaching out to the youth, he said that the next government in Madhya Pradesh will be formed by Congress and it will be a government of the youth."We will bring the maximum possible number of young people forward. We have to change Madhya Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh is stuck up as far as development is concerned," Rahul said.Debunking NDA's development plank, he said that while only 2650 kms of roads were constructed during the NDA regime, 9517 kms of roads were laid during five years of UPA.He also took a dig at Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan over his power generation claims, saying that he has only talked about it at four places while not a single megawatt of power has so far been generated there.(With agencies inputs)