Lucknow, July 17 (IANS) Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi blamed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati for the poor power supply in his parliamentary constituency of Amethi, while remaining silent over remarks against the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief that have landed his party’s state chief in jail on charges of denigrating Dalits.
Addressing a gathering in Amethi, Gandhi slammed Mayawati for allegedly misusing developmental funds by installing statues in the state.

“The (BSP) government has place for statues and elephants…but for development there is no place…,” said Gandhi, who is on a day’s tour to Amethi.

“Crores of rupees released by the centre for the development of Uttar Pradesh are being siphoned off by the state government. Owing to misuse of funds only, the power scenario and other civic amenities in the state cannot be rated as satisfactory,” he added.

After arriving here in the morning, Gandhi drove to Amethi without answering queries from journalists over what he thought of Rita Bahuguna Joshi’s statements against Mayawati and Joshi’s subsequent arrest.

“Rahul will hold meetings in all the five assembly constituencies in Amethi. The first meeting will take place in Salon,” said party leader Akhilesh Pratap Singh.

According to party officials, Gandhi will hear the grievances of people in Amethi, about 150 km from here. Earlier this week, the town saw violent protests over poor supply of electricity.

Joshi was arrested after midnight Wednesday in Ghaziabad for a speech against Mayawati that the chief minister said was insulting to her as a woman and a Dalit. Joshi has been charged under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

A mob shouting pro-Mayawati slogans later attacked and torched Joshi’s house in Lucknow. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has denied it was involved in the attack.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has not reacted publicly to Joshi’s remarks but has reportedly told her MPs from Uttar Pradesh that what Joshi said was “completely unacceptable”.