Say goodbye to 'elephant', 'cycle': Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today appealed to the voters to give his party just five years to change the face of Uttar Pradesh and bid goodbye to the 'elephant' and the 'cycle'.

"People will find a change in five years and in next ten years, people will not be able to recognise their state," he said at an election meeting in Bulandshahr district.

Insisting that he has not come to win elections but to change Uttar Pradesh, the Congress leader said, "Unless UP changes, Rahul Gandhi will not move from here."

"To bring about a change, it is necessary for the youth to come forward because they are the ones who can usher in a change. This is the time for change - so say goodbye to the 'elephant' and the 'cycle' and bring in a Congress government," he said.

While 'elephant' is the symbol of ruling BSP, 'cycle' is that of SP.

Rahul said leaders in UP make tall promises and disappear when the time comes to implement them.

He said that in 2004, Congress had promised a government for the common man and launched MNREGA that promises 100 days of employment.

To see the success of this scheme, one should visit Congress-ruled states like Haryana, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

He said the Congress gave a loan waiver scheme to farmers and reopened the doors of banks for them. For the weavers, the Centre gave loans up to Rs2 lakhs and a weaver's credit card.

Rahul said the Congress was now preparing to give the right to food under which every poor family would get 35kg of foodgrains a month and no one in the country would go hungry.