Headlines
Rahul back to work after vacation, to address rally
New Delhi, April 18
Back after a 56-day break
from politics, Rahul Gandhi along with party president Sonia Gandhi will
address a rally on Sunday over the land acquisition bill and against
the Narendra Modi government policies that the party describes as
"anti-farmer".
The "kisan khet mazdoor" (farmer-farms labour)
rally is being widely seen as a show of strength for a party desperate
to reverse its sliding fortunes after a string of election drubbings.
Rahul
Gandhi, who led a 'padyatra', a protest march in Bhatta Parsaul in 2011
against the then Mayawati government's land acquisition in Uttar
Pradesh, will be seen in the forefront once again at the farmers' rally
here.
He was not seen in public for nearly two months since the
budget session of parliament began on February 23. He returned here on
April 16 from an undisclosed destination where he was said to have
retreated in a leave of absence from politics.
On the eve of the second half of the budget session set to
reconvene on April 20, farmers will converge here to attend the rally at
Ramlila Maidan, where most political protests in the capital are held.
The
Congress, which has been strongly opposing changes in the original
legislation on land acquisition brought by its government in 2013, is
protesting the dilution of the original consent clause which makes it
mandatory to secure 80 percent approval of those dependent on the land
being procured.
The Congress is "determined to oppose" the land
bill that will be introduced in the Lok Sabha for the second time in the
upcoming session, said Congress leader Anand Sharma.
"They will
face a brick wall of opposition," he said, adding that Rahul Gandhi is
likely to address the Lok Sabha on the issue this time.
The party
vice president held meetings on Saturday with multiple delegations of
farmers from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Madhya
Pradesh to hear their issues regarding the land acquisition ordinance as
well as their concern due to the crop loss.
Congress
spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told IANS that the rally is being
organised at a mammoth scale to protest the Narendra Modi-government's
"anti-farmer and anti-poor" policies.
"We will protest against
the Draconian land acquisition ordinance 2015 and raise voice for the
stress caused to farmers by the damage of 200 lakh hectare of land..."
Following
a trail of destruction caused by unseasonal rain and hailstorm across
the agrarian states in the country, the partially damaged crop lying in
wholesale is yet to be picked up by the government.
"We would
raise the issue at the rally since the government is rejecting that crop
on the plea that it has 14 percent moisture content. But even the good
crop would have some. Where would the poor farmer go for help," asked
Surjewala.
"We will also raise our voice against the embargo on
states for not releasing the compensation. The poor farmers are not
getting adequate market selling price for the Rabi crop. That is another
area of concern for us," he added.
A 17-coach 'Kisan Express'
train will carry farmers from Jaipur to Delhi on Sunday. Huge billboards
dot the streets of the national capital and radio spots publicise the
rally.
Following a stormy first half of the budget session that
witnessed multiple walkouts by the opposition in the Lok Sabha over the
land acquisition bill, the Congress has sought to up the ante by
protests against the land bill issue.
Sonia Gandhi led a foot
march by the opposition from parliament to Rashtrapati Bhavan while the
party fielded a battery of senior leaders who raised slogans like "Kisan
Virodhi Narendra Modi" on the streets of Delhi and at Jantar Mantar on
March 16.
New Delhi, April 18
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, who returned home two days ago
after a 56-day leave of absence, met farmers here on Saturday.
The farmers who met Gandhi said they discussed the land acquisition bill, which they described as anti-farmer.
The farmers also discussed the "mammoth" crop damage caused by unseasonal rain and hailstorms.
Roop
Singh, a farmer from Haryana, told IANS that Gandhi assured him that
Congress would raise the land bill issue in parliament.
"The act brought by Congress should be retained... The current bill is anti-farmer and is a Modi bill," the farmer said.
This was Gandhi's first public interaction after his sabbatical.
The
44-year-old Gandhi scion is scheduled to meet about half-a-dozen groups
of farmers from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab and Madhya
Pradesh at his residence later in the day.
The meetings were originally scheduled for Friday but were deferred till Saturday.
The meetings are being held a day ahead of a Congress rally to be held at the city's Ramlila Ground on Sunday.