April 22 : Rahul Gandhi today wooed four agrarian constituencies of Assam with identical speeches about the UPA government’s benevolence towards the farming community and its attention to the flood and erosion problem in the state.

The young Congress general secretary criss-crossed the state from east to west, addressing large gatherings in Lakhimpur, Misa (in Kaliabor constituency), Kharupetia (in Mangaldoi constituency) and Dhubri.

The Congress has fielded Ranee Narah from Lakhimpur, Dip Gogoi from Kaliabor, Madhab Rajbongshi from Mangaldoi and Anowar Hussain from Dhubri.

Rahul reminded the people that the UPA government had waived off farmers’ loan amounting to Rs 70,000 crore and claimed that it was only the Congress which was committed to the cause of the backward communities.

Along with the loan waiver, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Assurance scheme that provides assured employment of 100 days for the rural poor is the biggest achievement of the UPA government, Rahul told the people.

Campaigning for the second phase of elections in Assam on April 23 comes to a close tomorrow. Elections will be held for the remaining 11 of the 14 constituencies — all the seats being in the Brahmaputra valley.

With only a day to go for formal electioneering to conclude, the Congress in Assam today chose to reserve it for the party’s charismatic young mascot.

Rahul appealed to the people to vote for the Congress so that the initiatives taken by the UPA did not lose their momentum and reached their logical conclusion.

“The Manmohan Singh-led UPA government was formed entirely for the well-being of the poor… We are of the opinion that India cannot progress until and unless poverty is eliminated from society,” he said in his 15-minute speech in Hindi at Lakhimpur.

He said the UPA government has accorded top priority to the flood and erosion problems of the state, citing the release of the Rs 140 crore for the construction of the Matmora dyke in Lakhimpur as proof.

At Kharupetia in Darrang district, Rahul promised that the area would be connected with rail network if the UPA government retained power.

He said the Congress always gave priority to improvement of the communication network in the region.

In all the four constituencies, Rahul launched scathing attacks on the BJP-led NDA, saying the alliance was misleading the people with “falsehood.”

The euphoria of the Dhubri campaign, however, died when a truck carrying Congress supporters home from Rahul’s meeting rammed into another, injuring 40 people. 

Police said the mishap occurred when the truck carrying the Congress supporters collided head-on with the other vehicle at Panbari under Gouripur police station around 5.30pm.

Of the injured, the condition of seven persons is stated to be critical. They were shifted to Dhubri Civil Hospital.