Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday attended a meeting of the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA), inaugurated a beautification project and laid the foundation stone for the construction of roads in his parliamentary constituency here in Uttar Pradesh.

Gandhi, who maintained a distance with the media during his visit, later said in a post on Facebook that the people of Rae Bareli told him about their problems with full authority.

On the way to Rae Bareli, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha paid obeisance at a Hanuman temple at Churwa and met party workers.

Soon after his arrival in Rae Bareli, Gandhi inaugurated a beautification project undertaken by the municipal corporation in Rae Bareli at the Degree College intersection.

Subsequently, the Congress leader later laid the foundation stone for road-construction projects under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and then attended the DISHA meeting.

The meeting focused on various public welfare issues, including schemes such as MGNREGA, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and others, officials said.

Gandhi presided over the meeting with administrative officials. A blueprint for the development of the district was prepared at the meeting and central schemes were reviewed.

This was Gandhi’s first meeting with local officials since becoming an MP.

According to the Union Ministry for Rural Development, DISHAs were formed to ensure better coordination among members of Parliament, state legislatures and local governments. Gandhi left for Lucknow after the meeting.

In his Facebook post in Hindi, the Congress leader said: “No matter how old my relationship with Rae Bareli is, it deepens every time I visit the place. All the people of the area have given me a lot of love and told me about their problems with full authority.”

“As an MP, while presiding over the first DISHA committee meeting of Rae Bareli, I discussed the problems and progress of the entire area with all the public representatives and officials. I also unveiled the newly-constructed Shaheed Chowk and roads,” he said.

“Rae Bareli has honoured me by making me their voice — I am always eager to ensure their prosperity, fulfil their needs and solve their problems,” he added.

Asked about Gandhi’s visit, Amethi MP Kishori Lal Sharma said central schemes of 52 departments were reviewed at the DISHA meeting, in which representatives of all the parties and block heads were also present.

Later, Uttar Pradesh minister Dinesh Pratap Singh showed a poster to reporters. In the poster, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader took potshots at Gandhi for spending less time in his constituency.

“It has been more than six months, the MP (Gandhi) has not spent a night in his constituency,” he said.

“In the last six months, (Gandhi spent) only five hours. Then in five years, it will be 50 hours. It means in five years, only two days?” the poster, titled “Raebareli ke Rahulji”, said, requesting the Congress leader to spend a night in his constituency.