'No matter whether I go to Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu...For me, Amethi comes first...No matter where I go, I always keep contemplating measures for an all-round development of Amethi.'

'My relation with people of Amethi is not political...I consider them as my family. I will continue to strive for the development of Amethi,' added Gandhi.

After arriving here in the morning, Gandhi drove to Amethi without answering queries from journalists over what he thought of Rita Bahuguna Joshi's statements against Mayawati and Joshi's subsequent arrest.

'Rahul will hold meetings in all the five assembly constituencies in Amethi,' said party leader Akhilesh Pratap Singh.

According to party officials, Gandhi was in Amethi to hear the grievances of the people.

Joshi was arrested after midnight Wednesday in Ghaziabad, on the outskirts of Delhi, for remarks that chief minister Mayawati said were insulting to her as a woman and a Dalit. Joshi has been charged under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

A mob shouting pro-Mayawati slogans later attacked and torched Joshi's house in Lucknow. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has denied it was involved in the attack.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has not reacted publicly to Joshi's remarks but has reportedly told her MPs from Uttar Pradesh that what Joshi said was 'completely unacceptable'.