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| I am ready to go to jail: Sonia Gandhi | | | AGENCIES
LALGANJ, Oct 14: Openly challenging UP Chief Minister Mayawati for trying to prevent her entry into Rai Bareli on Tuesday, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said that no one can stop her from “coming home”. “Rai Bareli is my karmabhoomi and I am ready to go to jail to protect its interests,” an unusually combatant Sonia said, after defying prohibitory orders to enter the city with her supporters.
The development came even as Sonia’s public rally, scheduled for today, was cancelled in the wake of Section 144 (CrPC) being in force in the district.
Earlier, Mayawati had diverted Sonia’s route to Rae Bareli, but the Congress president, to prove a point, reached the town via the scheduled route.
“Rae Bareli and Amethi were the karmabhoomi of Feroze, Rajiv and Indira Gandhi and now is my and Rahul’s karmabhoomi,” quipped Sonia. On the rail coach factory land allotment controversy, she said, “It’s not right to comment on the issue as it is sub-judice.”
Sonia added that she came here to take part in a joyous occasion but it was not to be. Taking a dig at the UP government, she said that several projects have been cleared by the Centre and all the obstacles are being created by the state government.
The UPA chairperson was scheduled to perform ''bhoomi pujan'' with her son and Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav for the proposed rail coach factory.
The land allotted for the proposed rail coach factory was withdrawn by Mayawati, but later the Lucknow High Court had imposed a stay on the CM's order.
The High Court heard the writ petition filed by the Centre challenging the order of the Mayawati government cancelling the allotment of land for the project. The court heard the writ moved by the Centre through Secretary, Railway Board, Ministry of Railways and two others.
Now the ceremony would be performed after October 22 - the next date of hearing in the land allotment row.
It is now turning out to be an all out battle between the UPA chairperson and the UP CM.
Meanwhile, the district was virtually turned into a fortress with the deployment of heavy security for Sonia’s visit to her Parliamentary constituency in the backdrop of a land row between the Centre and the Mayawati government.
Sonia cancelled her plan to address a rally in Lalganj town after the district administration decided to clamp prohibitory orders in the district following the Centre-state dispute over setting up of a rail coach factory here.
The Congress president will visit Lalganj to inspect the Lifeline Express train and have an audience with the people of her constituency.
Meanwhile, the police have registered cases, including under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, against two Congress MLAs — Ashok Singh and Shiv Ganesh Lodhi — and 34 others. Of them, eight people have been arrested. |
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