Amethi, July 17 - Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi Friday described Uttar Pradesh party chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi's comments about Chief Minister Mayawati that have landed her in jail as 'unfortunate'.

'The language used was unfortunate, they were not right,' Gandhi told reporters during a short visit to his Lok Sabha constituency.

But he immediately added that he agreed with the 'sentiments' of Joshi, who he said was articulating the widespread anger against the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) government in Uttar Pradesh.

'The Uttar Pradesh government does not work for the poor... These are right sentiments. Wherever we go, the government does not work in Uttar Pradesh.'

Gandhi said the Congress party would ensure that money disbursed by the central government to Uttar Pradesh for programmes meant for the poor reaches the target audience.