Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi interacts with a cobbler during his visit to Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Sultanpur (UP): A group of Congress leaders on Wednesday met the Sultanpur district magistrate to ensure that the benefits of government schemes reach cobbler Ramchet, whose shop was visited by party leader Rahul Gandhi last month.
Ramchet accompanied the Congress leaders as they met District Magistrate Kritika Jyotsna.
Talking to reporters, Sultanpur Congress president Abhishek Singh Rana said he informed Jyotsna that the cobbler was deprived of the public welfare schemes of the government.
Rana claimed that the DM instructed the district development officer (DDO) to resolve within a week, the problems being faced by Ramchet.
DDO Ajay Pandey told PTI that they would look into the issues and take necessary action.
Gandhi paid an unscheduled surprise visit to Ramchet's shop in Vidhayak Nagar on the outskirts of Sultanpur on July 26 while returning to the national capital after appearing in a district court in connection with a defamation case.
Rana said there was no approach road to Ramchet's house and that he is forced to navigate through a muddy road every day. He also claimed that several others were deprived of basic facilities.
"We are in the opposition. Whatever problems the public has, we will work to get them resolved," he said.
After the meeting, Ramchet told reporters that the district magistrate assured him that all his complaints would be looked into.
"I met the DM and told her that I do not have a government accommodation, electricity connection, or toilet. Even the ration card I had was cancelled one and a half months ago. The DM told me that she would get it investigated and call me after a week," he said.
Ramchet said he met the village head on several occasions, seeking a house under a government scheme but to no avail.
"No one listens to me. Only the influential people, who collude with the village head, get a house under the government housing scheme," he said.