Amethi belonged to Gandhi family, will continue to do so: Kishori Lal Sharma

Amethi (UP): Congress MP from Amethi Kishori Lal Sharma on Thursday asserted that Amethi has belonged to the Gandhi family and will continue to remain so in the future.

Addressing party workers at the district office here during his one-day visit to the constituency, Sharma said the Gandhi family has always worked for the welfare, development and prosperity of the people of Amethi.

"Amethi belongs to the Gandhi family and the Gandhi family belongs to Amethi. They have always thought about Amethi's development and the well-being of its people," he said.

Sharma said he was in Amethi on the instructions of the Gandhi family and was discharging the responsibility entrusted to him.

Sharma said he would remain indebted for life to the people of Amethi for electing him as their MP and that serving the constituency and ensuring its development would remain his sole objective.

On the Gandhi family's proposed visit to the city, Sharma said a major party programme would be organised soon, which would be attended by a member of the Gandhi family.

He said Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress parliamentarian from Raebareli, Rahul Gandhi, has personally expressed his desire to visit Amethi.

Speaking to reporters, Sharma targeted the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh, alleging that they were cheating and doing injustice to the poor and labourers.

He claimed the BJP intended to shut down the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, but asserted that the Congress would not allow it.

Referring to the alleged incident involving Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati in Prayagraj, Sharma condemned the treatment meted out to the seer, calling it highly objectionable and contradictory to the BJP's claims of being protectors of Sanatan traditions.