AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi landed in Varanasi on Tuesday morning and went on a tour of villages in Naxal-affected Chandauli and Mirzapur districts of eastern UP. He held chaupals and interacted with the villagers, asking them about their problems, implementation of Centrally funded schemes, especially MGNREGA and whether payments were made regularly. In Chandauli district, Rahul visited Kurthiya village and held a chaupal. Besides discussing their problems, he explained to them the importance of UID number and how it would remove corruption by ensuring that financial assistance under various Central schemes directly reaches the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. He asked villagers whether they had heard of the Jan Lokpal Bill and what they thought of it. Before starting his tour, Rahul visited Sant Ravidas Janmasthan temple in Varanasi, spent time with the priests, sat in the “satsang” and also had meals. In 2008, UP Chief Minister Mayawati had failed to visit the temple following security concerns and had instead unveiled a golden “palki” for the temple, worth Rs 1.5 crore, at a rally about 200 metres away.