Soraon (UP), Feb 11 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today said Mayawati government was more sympathetic towards "rich builders" than poor farmers and charged BJP, SP and BSP with only serving their respective "vote banks" when in power in Uttar Pradesh and ignoring the common man. "Elections usually usher in a change. In UP, many elections have taken place in the last 22 years but no change has been noticed. This is because during this period, the state has been ruled by parties which were interested only in their vote banks which normally comprise not more than 10 per cent of the population. "As a result, they have completely lost touch with the common people and issues concerning them," Gandhi told an election rally here, 25 km from Allahabad. He criticised the BJP for having raised the slogan of 'India Shining' during the 2004 General elections, saying, "This shows that the party's leadership had never cared to empathise with the masses who have been struggling to make their ends meet." Coming down heavily on the Mayawati government, the Congress general secretary said the BSP supremo has been running a government which is "more sympathetic to rich builders than poor farmers". "I got evidence of this when I visited Bhatta Parsaul and learnt from the farmers that their land was acquired without prior notice from the administration. When some of them tried to raise questions, they were beaten up by police and put behind bars," Gandhi. MORE
