Rahul march: UP leaders asked to keep away, upset

There is discontent among senior Congress leaders of the Uttar Pradesh over local leaders being kept away from Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi's ambitious padytra that started from Bhatta village on Tuesday.

Though Gandhi has managed to draw attention to the problem of land acquisition by the Mayawati government, senior UP leaders told rediff.com, in an off-the-record conversation, "Can you imagine any such grassroot-level effort without participation of local Congress leaders? Don't you want to build up a team in Uttar Pradesh?"

A Youth Congress leader said, "We don't understand why there was a diktat issued to even Digvijay Singh (Congress in-charge of state affairs), Rita Bahuguna Joshi (UPCC chairperson) or Jitin Prasada (Union minister) not to attend?"  

According to Congress activists from UP, on Tuesday morning when Gandhi started the yatra not even 200 people joined him. "Where are the people? Where are the Congress supporters," he asked, adding that such a padyatra should be turned it into a "modern day Dandhi march."

A Congress leader from western UP said, "We understand that the party wants to promote Rahulji alone, but there is an urgent need to build a team in UP."      

Insiders told rediff.com's Sharat Pradhan that the Congress party had instructed leaders in UP to not join Gandhi's padyatra. The team, which planned the yatra, was averse to the idea of party leaders from UP joining him. On the first day of the yatra Gandhi was accompanied by young workers from New Delhi and Rajasthan, but Vidihit Chowdahry, chief of Youth Congress from Uttar Pradesh was asked to keep away.

However, the UP Congress and Youth Congress, now, has been instructed to make all efforts to gather crowds for the kisan mahapanachayat at Aligarh on Saturday.

Gandhi's yatra will culminate at Aligarh where the Mayawati government has clamped prohibitory orders under Section 144 (unlawful assembly). However, the local administration has granted permission to hold a panchayat, which Gandhi is planning to address.