Rahul Gandhi listens to a villager in Amethi on Tuesday. (PTI)

Lucknow, July 15: Amid the turmoil over the nuclear deal, Rahul Gandhi today sought to deflect Left criticism by refocusing the Congress’s attention on bread and butter issues that would benefit the entire nation, which, he said, “lives in his heart”.

Rahul, who is widely expected to be the party’s mascot in the next general elections, took a cue from grandmother Indira Gandhi by stating that the Congress was geared towards working for the common man.

Ever since it withdrew support to the UPA, the Left has pounded the government with criticism that it has done precious little for the masses reeling from the burden of rising prices and was more interested in a deal that was far removed from the aspirations of the people.

The 38-year-old Congress general secretary, who many in the organisation want to be the prime ministerial candidate, attempted to set the agenda for the party by falling back on a tested slogan. “Indiraji used to talk of roti, kapda aur makaan…. I also think the same way,” he told party workers in Amethi.

As part of her Garibi Hatao campaign for the 1971 Lok Sabha polls, Mrs Gandhi had promised roti, kapda and makaan to every poor Indian, a slogan that won her a famous election victory.

Rahul was also quick to weed out accusations that he was a leader who represented only his constituency of Amethi.

“This is not just for the people of Amethi but for the entire country. The entire country is our priority…. Hindustan mere dil mein hai (India lives in my heart),” he said.

Rahul has often been the butt of ridicule of Opposition leaders who have pilloried him for being Amethi’s leader who has no pan-Indian vision.

Senior Congressmen said by reviving the slogan of roti, kapda aur makaan, Rahul was laying the roadmap for the party’s future campaign.

“He has answered the criticism of Opposition parties and also virtually set the agenda for the party,” said Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Akhilesh Pratap Singh.

The Gandhi-Nehru scion, who is on a three-day tour of his constituency, laid the foundation stone for 24 houses under the Indira Awas Yojana.

The houses are meant to be distributed among Dalits. Rahul has been aggressively reaching out to the Dalits, the core support base of the Bahujan Samaj Party, in a bid to win their support for the Congress.

“I have consulted building construction companies and they say that a house on an area of 400 square feet would cost not more than Rs 25,000,” he said, quickly adding that the model should be replicated for the poor across India.

Rahul welcomed the people of Haliyapur village, added to Amethi constituency after delimitation, and assured them of development like other places. “Some work has been done in Amethi on this. Now we would go beyond Amethi and work for the poor elsewhere too,” he said.