Rahul, Centre exchange barbs over Amethi food park

Addressing a press conference here, Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said: "Rahul Gandhi was never serious about the food park."

She said Rahul took 10 months to realize that the food park project has been cancelled.

Launching a counter offensive against the ruling BJP which had attacked him for not visiting Amethi for long, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on the same day targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi while visiting his parliamentary constituency.

"The PM travels the world, but has not visited the home of even one farmer who committed suicide,"  Gandhi said from his car to the hundreds of people who crowded to welcome him.

He then got off his car and walked 2 km to where a food park, now scrapped, was to be built.

Rahul  vowed to "try and get back" the food park, which was sanctioned by the previous UPA government.

"It would have benefited many people, but the Modi government has snatched it away," he said.

He said the project was cancelled by the Centre out of 'vengeance'.

Rahul said: "People asked what marks would you give to the government.I said,farmers will give zero,2-3 corp friends of Modi will give 10/10." 

His attack on the PM came when Modi was on a foreign tour, visiting China, Mongolia and South Korea.

Rahul  has been touring parts of the country meeting the families of distressed farmers who have committed suicide.

This is Rahul's  first visit to Amethi since December 2014, and the BJP has been accusing him of neglecting the constituency that he has represented for over a decade.