Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said that even five paise of a rupee spent by the Centre is not reaching the intended beneficiaries, as he launched a fresh attack on the Mayawati government.
"I remember my father had once said that only 17 paise out of a rupee reach people. Now the situation is even worse," Gandhi said while addressing a rally on the second day of his tour in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh.
"The Centre could send money and develop schemes. But in the absence of a delivery system here (Bundelkhand), it has no meaning. I have seen that not even five paise out of a rupee reach here," he claimed.
Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, during a visit to drought-affected Kalahandi district in Orissa in 1985, had opined, "Of every rupee spent by the government, only 17 paise reached the intended beneficiary". The remark had triggered a controversy.
Gandhi, who visited Bandha, Hamirpur, Jalaon, Mahoba and Ullan region on Wednesday, alleged that the situation was alarming and corruption was at its height in the administration.
"I met people who had 50 National Rural Employment Gurantee Act job cards with the same serial number and not even one card had the entry of work. What does this situation suggest?" he said. Rahul alleged grave irregularities in the implementation of the NREGA scheme by the state government.
