Thaindian News

Amethi (Uttar Pradesh), Jan 28 (IANS) Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi Thursday took officials to task for the tardy work on the proposed petroleum technology institute in his Amethi parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh.
Named after his father, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, the institute’s foundation stone was laid by his mother Sonia Gandhi months ago.

Party sources said the construction work is yet to take off largely on account of bureaucratic lethargy.

The Congress MP arrived here Thursday noon on a two-day visit to review development and welfare schemes in his constituency.

After landing in a chartered plane at the Indira Gandhi Flying Akademi airstrip in Fursatganj, about 35 km from here, Gandhi headed straight for Jais, where the proposed institute is to come up.

Thereafter, he visited the Malvika Steel plant, whose revival he had planned through intervention of the Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL).

SAIL took over the sick plant and worked out its revival plan. The plant has remained shut for past few years.

Gandhi, however, kept the media at a distance, in an obvious bid to avoid any comment.

In keeping with his past practice, Gandhi went visiting some villages where he held meetings with women self-help groups.

Later in the afternoon, on return to his guest house at the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in Munshiganj, Gandhi held a closed-door session with members of various councils and other local bodies that formed the electoral college for the recently concluded elections to the state Legislative Council (upper house).

The Congress lost to the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party here.