(News) Montek’s visit to Bundelkhand sparks war or words between BSP & Congress

Montek’s visit to Bundelkhand sparks war between BSP & Congress

The visit of Deputy Chairman of the Planing Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia to Jhansi district on Sunday to inspect the schemes implemented with funds from the Bundelkhand package became a Congress versus BSP affair, with Union Minister of State for Rural Development Pradeep Jain “Aditya” constantly finding faults and UP officials trying to counter him.

Besides Jain, who is MP from Jhansi, UP’s Chief Secretary Anoop Mishra accompanied Ahluwalia who inspected check-dams, dams, dug wells, food processing units and construction of rural roads at several villages on the second day of his visit.

Before leaving for Delhi by Shatabdi Express in the evening, Ahluwalia said he would send details of his findings in a letter to the governments of UP and MP. He heads the advisory panel meant for overseeing implementation of the Centre-approved Rs 7,266 crore drought mitigation package for Bundelkhand for a period of three years from 2009-10.

Ahluwalia’s visit comes at a time when the Congress is trying to reap political benefits from the Bundelkhand package in the coming Assembly elections. AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi has attacked the ruling BSP of not utilising the package properly in the drought-prone region which comprises seven districts of UP, namely Banda, Chitrakoot, Hamirpur, Jhansi, Lalitpur, Mahoba and Jalaun and Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur, Damoh, Datia, Panna, Sagar and Tikamgarh districts.

“It was virtually BSP versus Congress in several villages, with Ahluwalia struggling to present himself as a non-partisan man,” said a source in Jhansi, adding that the Chief Secretary intervened at several places to defend the state government against the charges of the Union Minister.

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Courtesy: Expressindia.com