Headlines
Rahul misled country about food park in Amethi: Minister
New Delhi, May 8
Union Food Processing
Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Friday accused Congress vice-president
Rahul Gandhi of misleading the country and people of his constituency
about a proposed food park in Amethi.
Responding to Gandhi's
allegations in the Lok Sabha on Thursday that the Narendra Modi-led
government scrapped the project, she said the Congress leader laid the
foundation stone of the food park in Amethi a few months before the Lok
Sabha elections even though the Congress-led UPA government had refused
to supply subsidised gas for it.
The minister said the UPSIDC
(Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation) had allocated a
plot for fertiliser plant of 800 acre, part of which was to be used for
setting up mega food park in Amethi parliamentary constituency.
As the minister spoke, Congress members kept protesting.
She
told the members that the permission for the food park was given in
2010 and the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was in power
till 2014.
The park should have been completed in two years but
the promoter was given a notice in 2012 as work had not begun, she said,
adding that the promoter of the food park had sought subsidised gas
which was refused by the petroleum ministry in June 2013.
"Rahul Gandhi laid the foundation stone in October 2013 to mislead (the people)," she said.
Accusing
Gandhi of not speaking the truth over the issue, the minister wondered
why he did not raise the issue concerning food park for five years.
She
said her ministry took a considered decision to cancel the food park 10
months ago. "Was he sleeping for 10 months," she asked.
"Their
leader has tried to mislead the nation and people of his constituency,"
she said while accusing the Congress of practising politics of
deception.
"Let them refute... their own leader is wrong. He made accusations against the prime minister," she said.
Badal,
who belongs to the Shiromani Akali Dal, also took a dig at Gandhi over
his sabbatical of over 50 days. "He came back after five-star holiday in
first class and started talking of farmers."
The issue was
raised after Question Hour by Kirit Somaiya of the Bharatiya Janata
Party, alleging that Gandhi had misled the house and the farmers.
Somaiya said he has given notice for a privilege motion against the Congress leader.
Gandhi on Thursday accused Prime Minister Modi of playing vendetta politics and scrapping the proposed food park in Amethi.