BJP president Amit Shah’s attacks on Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi have sharpened considerably over the past few weeks. Shah visited Amethi last week and attacked Rahul for neglecting his parliamentary constituency over the past 13 years. The same line of attack was unleashed by Shah at a mega-rally attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani in Gandhinagar on Monday. But BJP seems to be unaware about Amethi’s turbulent past and its tryst with litigations for over a decade.

Shah termed Rahul as anti-development citing the example of Amethi in the Gandhinagar rally. “Rahul Gandhi has not been able to get a collectorate office made in Amethi and is questioning our work in Gujarat,” said Shah. Earlier Shah had earlier blamed three generations of Gandhi family for lack of development in Amethi. BJP leaders have been attacking Congress saying when they couldn’t build a collectorate in so many decades, what development can one expect from Rahul to bring to Gujarat.

In so many years, Rahul Gandhi hasn't been able to get a collectorate office made in Amethi & is questioning our work in Gujarat: @AmitShah pic.twitter.com/YQXqcWaMMu — Times of India (@timesofindia) October 16, 2017

Rewind to May 2003 when the Mayawati led BSP-BJP government decided to carve a new district – Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Nagar (CSM Nagar) – from parts of Rae Bareli and Sultanpur districts. The BSP-BJP government fell in August and the government notification was stayed by the high court. Mulayam Singh Yadav took over from Mayawati and scrapped the district altogether in September the same year.

'Rahul baba, what have your grandmother, father or you done for Amethi', asks @AmitShah,as he launches 2019 campaign https://t.co/EmFsQGcdVV pic.twitter.com/IJbkFCR7Vf — Times of India (@timesofindia) October 10, 2017

Not known for taking no as an answer, Mayawati issued a fresh notification to carve out a new district in July 2010. But the new district – CSM Nagar – had to be put on hold due to census operations. The new district was aimed at curbing Rahul’s forays into Mayawati’s Dalit bastions across the state. Mayawati lost the 2012 assembly election and her successor Akhilesh Yadav renamed the district as Amethi in July 2012. But the new district could get a final clearance from the court only in April 2013. NDA swept to power in 2014 and it was only in March last year that the state government cleared Rs 4 crore out of the sanctioned amount of Rs 10 crore for construction of various buildings for the new district.

Even after ruling for 14 years, Rahul Gandhi did not facilitate building of a collectorate in Amethi, ANI quotes @myogiadityanath in Valsad pic.twitter.com/RfwlnaJG4W — Times of India (@timesofindia) October 13, 2017

Considering BJP is in power in UP and the Centre, either party leaders are trying to mislead the public in Gujarat or they need to do their homework properly.