New Delhi: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday met a farmers’ delegation to hear their views on the changes in the Land Acquisition Bill by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre.
Rahul Gandhi returned to active politics after 55 day long leave
The meeting is being held a day ahead of the mega ‘Kisaan Mazdoor rally’ at the Ramlila Maidan here.The Congress vice-president arrived in New Delhi yesterday after a two-month long break from the political scene.
His whereabouts were a matter of much speculation and it is still not known where he spent his holidays. The Congress had, however, defended his absence and said that the 44-year-old leader wanted time off for introspection after a series of electoral drubbings.
The Congress party is hopeful that the Gandhi scion will pull the party out of the trenches it has fallen into after poor performance in Lok Sabha and Assembly polls. As Rahul met farmers today ahead of his party’s mega Kisan rally tomorrow, Congress leaders hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for neglecting the welfare of rain-hit farmers. The Congress leaders said Rahul will turn out to be the saviour of farmers.
In a related incident, 2 farmers in Bharaich district of Uttar Pradesh died of heart failure after their crops were damaged due to unseasonal rainfall and hail storm.
Unseasonal storms have badly damaged the winter crop in large parts of the fertile northern plains, most likely contributing to the suicides, and villagers have blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not stepping in to help the distressed farmers or ensuring that crop prices remained stable.
As per the last reports, so far 40 farmers have committed suicide in Uttar Pradesh alone. The two farmers – Brijbihari and Babu – were distressed and in shock after their crops were damaged. Brijbihari had recently arranged his daughter’s wedding as he was expecting good returns on his wheat crops. Meanwhile, Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Bharaich, Santosh Kumar, ensured timely compensation to the farmers’ family.
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