JOIN USRahul Gandhi on Thursday tried to put the Modi government in the dock over the cancellation of a mega-food park in his Amethi constituency, but the Centre hit back claiming the private company had withdrawn from the project terming it “unviable”.
Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha during Zero Hour, Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of indulging in “politics of vendetta” instead of “politics for change” that he had promised in the run up to the elections. Gandhi said the Centre had scrapped the mega-food park project that would have benefited farmers of 10 districts in the region.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh fired the first salvo at Gandhi, telling the Congress leader that he had little knowledge of farmers’ issues. Seeking to turn the tables on the Congress, Rajnath said the food park Gandhi was referring to was sanctioned in 2010. “What magic happened then, I do not want to go into that. As far as I am aware, I think the company concerned had refused to develop the project,” the Home Minister said.
Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said the Congress leader was not aware of what was happening in his constituency. “The promoters knew that the project was not viable, but Rahul Gandhi laid the foundation for it when polls were around the corner,”
Badal said.
Twitter debut
Rahul Gandhi has made his debut in social media with an official Twitter handle, @OfficeOfRG, a move lauded by many in the Congress.
The 44-year-old leader’s Twitter debut happened on Tuesday night. The handle has already attracted more than 43,000 followers by Thursday evening.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, known for his use of social media, welcomed Gandhi’s team on the micro-blogging site. The next step was to get Gandhi himself make time for social media, said Tharoor, who has close to three million followers on Twitter.