Rahul Gandhi skips poll rally due to ill health

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi failed to attend a public meeting in the Sadar Bazar Assembly constituency on Wednesday.

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After waiting till 8 pm, DPCC president Devendra Yadav announced that Rahul Gandhi could not attend the meeting due to illness. He, however, sent a message for the attendees.

Yadav read his message for the gathering. “I regret that I couldn’t be there today, but I know that many of my supporters have come in large numbers. I believe the hard work of my brother Anil Bharadwaj and other Congress candidates will be rewarded. I appeal to you to make the Congress win with a big majority. Once I am well, I will try to visit Sadar and meet you,” Rahul’s message stated.

Yadav, while addressing the gathering, used the opportunity to criticise AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for their handling of the city’s issues.

“In the last 10 years, Kejriwal has ruined everything in Delhi – from the river to water, and even leadership. While Kejriwal has become happier, the people of Delhi have become sadder,” Yadav said.

He also accused Kejriwal and Modi of neglecting the public during the Covid-19 crisis. “While people were struggling for oxygen, Kejriwal was building his ‘Sheesh Mahal’ and Modi his ‘Raj Mahal’. They didn’t care about the people of Delhi,” he said.

Anil Bharadwaj, Congress candidate from Sadar Bazar, also criticised the Kejriwal government for failing to address basic issues like ration cards and housing for the poor.

“For the past 11 years, no names have been registered for ration cards. In 2013, our government built 59,000 houses under the Rajiv Ratan Yojana for the poor, but Kejriwal couldn’t even allot one house,” Bharadwaj said.