Rahul inspects ordnance factories, hospital projects on maiden visit to Amethi since LS polls

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday visited Amethi for the first time since last year's parliamentary polls and began his day with an inspection of the ordnance factory in Munshiganj.

Gandhi had laid the foundation stone for the factory during the UPA rule in 2007.

The leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha also inspected the Indo-Asian Rifles Private Limited unit located on the same campus, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 3, 2019. Both facilities have now begun manufacturing rifles.

Gandhi spent nearly an hour inside the factories, examining the rifles and interacting with officials to understand the production processes.

Following this, he visited the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital, where he inaugurated a new heart unit built at a cost of approximately Rs 3.5 crore.

Gandhi was briefed about the facility and its functioning by administrator Manoj Mattu. The Congress leader also flagged off a new ambulance service operated by the hospital.

During his visit, Gandhi also reviewed the progress of the Indira Gandhi College of Nursing, a project he is personally associated with and regards as a dream initiative. He interacted with students and faculty members, and took stock of the institution's activities.

Both the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital and the Indira Gandhi College of Nursing are managed by the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Trust, New Delhi, of which Congress leader Sonia Gandhi is the chairperson and Rahul Gandhi a trustee.

Rahul Gandhi began his political career from Amethi and represented the seat in the Lok Sabha until 2019, when he lost to the BJP's Smriti Irani.

Gandhi successfully contested the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Rae Bareli. On May 17 last year, during a joint rally at Amethi with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in support of Congress candidate Kishori Lal Sharma, Gandhi had said, "Amethi is our home and family. There will be no difference between Amethi and Rae Bareli."

Sharma accompanied Gandhi during his visit to the district on Wednesday.

However, the visit was not without controversy. Ahead of the Congress leader's arrival, posters labelling him as a "supporter of terror" were seen around Amethi town. Near the guesthouse gate of the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers burned Gandhi's effigy and raised slogans demanding his departure from Amethi.

Gandhi maintained a distance from the media throughout the day and made no public statements.

The leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha is scheduled to visit Kanpur later in the day to meet the family of Shubham Dwivedi, who was among the 26 people killed in a terror attack in south Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22.