Brajesh Pathak, Sanjay Nishad slam Rahul’s event as ‘flop show’, defend double engine govt

Lucknow, Aug 8 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak on Saturday launched a sharp attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ interaction with students in Prayagraj, dismissing the programme as a “flop show” and asserting that the Congress has no political future in the state.

Pathak said that under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh has a double-engine government working for every section of society on the principle of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas.’

“There has been no ‘parchi’ or ‘kharchi’ system here—that existed during your governments,” he referred to Gandhi while speaking to IANS. He claimed the poor turnout had reduced Gandhi’s bargaining power with the Samajwadi Party for more seats. Highlighting the state’s progress, Pathak said today’s youth in Uttar Pradesh are becoming job creators rather than migrating for employment.

“The state’s per capita income has tripled, the budget has tripled, and we are working to make Uttar Pradesh the number one state in the country,” he added, urging Gandhi not to worry about the state as the government is moving forward with the youth and students.

Pathak posed personal and political questions to the Leader of Opposition. He asked whether Gandhi had ever visited his grandfather’s grave in Prayagraj, cleaned it or paid respects, noting that remembering ancestors, especially during Pitru Paksha, is a part of Indian culture.

He further demanded an apology from Congress for imposing the Emergency, which he said had “strangled democracy,” and for the atrocities faced by students and youth during Congress rule. Instead of apologising, Pathak alleged, Gandhi was aligning with the Samajwadi Party merely to seek votes from caste- and religion-based outfits.

Referring to the Prayagraj event, the Deputy CM, a former Lucknow University Students’ Union president, said Congress had spent crores of rupees over three months and claimed over two lakh registrations. However, only around 5,000 students turned up when Gandhi arrived for the interaction.

Pathak reiterated that under the Modi-Yogi leadership, Uttar Pradesh is progressing steadily and that the Congress party holds no political future in the state.

Meanwhile, Sanjay Nishad, cabinet minister for fisheries (Uttar Pradesh), dismissed the event as a flop show, asserting that the youth of this country cannot be misled. He questioned, “If a fifty-five-year-old is considered youth, then where are the other young people?”

He further alleged that the show was an attempt to project Priyanka Gandhi’s daughter and demanded a response from the Congress. Nishad claimed that Gen-Z youth stand firmly with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the double-engine government. He highlighted that the government has provided opportunities through Start-up India and Skill India, and has pulled the state economy out of the deep red.

Nishad also advised the Samajwadi Party to reflect on the situation, noting that Congress’s youth organisations existed only in the past, while the present government has far better-organised bodies for the youth. “The youth of this country is with Modi ji, and Modi ji is with the youth,” he concluded.

–IANS

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