Three days after Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's visit, the Amethi constituency witnessed another high-profile event on 10 October, as BJP chief Amit Shah, Union minister Smriti Irani, and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath addressed a BJP rally in the Congress bastion.
Shah hit back at Gandhi for questioning what his party has done during its rule, saying it has "given a prime minister who speaks".
Shah also slammed Rahul for mocking the development in Gujarat by asking the Congress leader what three generations of his family had done for Amethi.
He is mocking the development in Gujarat. I want to ask ‘Shahzade’ of Congress what your three generations have given to Amethi. You sought account of our past three years but people of Amethi are taking account of work done here by your past three generations.
Shah said there were two models of development, a 'Nehru-Gandhi model' and the other the 'Modi model'.
No Development in Amethi: Amit Shah
Shah also accused the Congress of neglecting its traditional bastion. "I want to ask Rahul Gandhi: You have been an MP for so long. Why hasn't Amethi got a collector's office or Akashvani FM radio till now," he asked.
"BJP won four out of five seats in Amethi," he said. Three generations of Congress have done nothing for Amethi, he alleged.
There are two models of growth in Amethi: Gandhi-Nehru model and the Modi model
Yogi Adityanath Addresses Amethi Rally
“Congress doesn't love India. They cannot bring about development,” Adityanath said while addressing the rally. He also said that the Congress used to only “think about Italy, not Amethi.”
BJP Lotus Will Bloom in Amethi: Smriti Irani
Amethi has traditionally been a Congress bastion but witnessed a high-pitched electoral battle between Rahul Gandhi and Irani in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Though she lost, Irani managed to reduce the Congress leader's victory margin from around 3.70 lakh votes in 2009 to 1.07 lakh in 2014.
“What Congress couldn’t do in 60 years for Amethi, the BJP government could do it in 6 months,” the Information and Broadcasting Minister said at the rally.
She lashed out at the Congress vice president, claiming that the people of Amethi skipped voting in the Lok Sabha election because there was no development in the region.
Rahul Gandhi talks about development in Gujarat, but would like to ask him about his work in Amethi.
She concluded her address by emphasising that the “lotus will bloom in Amethi in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections”.
Earlier, talking to News 18 in Amethi, Irani said that “Amethi is not a Congress bastion anymore,” and that “Rahul only knows Berkeley, not Barolia.”
BJP Leaders to Unveil Projects
Officials said that a number of schemes and projects would be unveiled during the BJP leaders’ visit. Beneficiaries of various schemes will be handed over certificates, the officials said.
During her visit, Smriti Irani is scheduled to attend the launch of a FM station at Gauriganj and an initiative to save Gomti river near Pipri village. She will also attend the inauguration of a tuberculosis unit at the district hospital and a primary health centre at Odari Tiloi.
In the 2017 UP Assembly elections, the BJP won six of the 10 Assembly seats falling under the Amethi and Rae Bareli parliamentary constituencies. Four of these were in Amethi.
Party sources said the visit of the senior BJP leaders was aimed at sending a clear message that the current dispensation believed in all-round development and was not meting out "step-motherly treatment" to any area.
During his visit on 5 October, the Congress vice president accused the BJP governments at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh of re-inaugurating the projects launched by the previous UPA regime in the district and neglecting his constituency.
(With PTI inputs)
(Breathe In, Breathe Out: Are you finding it tough to breathe polluted air? Join hands with FIT in partnership with #MyRightToBreathe to find a solution to pollution. Send in your suggestions to fit@thequint.com or WhatsApp @ +919999008335)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)