Came to Vidarbha because people in Haryana call farmers cowards: Rahul Gandhi

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi who began his ‘sanvad padyatra’ in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra on Thursday, took a dig at Haryana Agriculture Minister OP Dhankar and said that it was because of statements like the one made by Dhankar that he had come to Vidarbha. [caption id=“attachment_2220762” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said the government had abandoned the farmers. Reuters[/caption] “Some people in Haryana have called farmers cowards. It is because of statements like these that I have come here,” Rahul Gandhi said in Vidarbha. He also criticised the BJP government for ‘abandoning’ farmers. “My interaction with the farmers was very disturbing. There was a feeling of abandonment in Vidarbha. I have never seen anything like this. The government is supposed to protect the farmers. But the farmers here feel that the government has abandoned them,” said the Congress vice-president. Rahul also said that the biggest issue which the farmers were worried about in Vidarbha was debt. “The farmers want the debts which they owe to be waived,” he said. “They are also worried that the Minimum Support Price has not been raised by the government,” he added. When asked what assurances he gave the farmers, Rahul said, “How I can promise the farmers anything? It is not in my capacity to promise them anything. But the government is ignoring farmers. Our party will do whatever is possible.” “This government is not a government for small businesses, the poor, the needy or the farmers. It’s a government for industrialists,” Rahul said. Earlier on Thursday, the Congress vice president gave a patient hearing to a group of marginal farmers. The villagers alleged that “insurance companies were only selecting sample areas for giving compensation while the rest of the farmers were being deprived by them of the benefits due”. “The insurance companies send their agents who mop up business for foreign giants as an incentive but, ultimately, it is the poor farmer who loses,” a villager, Pandurang, complained to Rahul. Some of them said that pesticides and fertilisers were being supplied to them at high prices even though the cost of production of such items was quite less. The villagers also drew Rahul’s attention to the damage their soya crop has suffered in the unseasonal rainfall. Soyabean prices have crashed heavily due to the damages, another farmer said. Hailing Rahul’s initiative in opposing the Land Acquisition Bill, 2015, in Parliament, the villagers said there was apprehension that farm land would be acquired for business. Nearly 171 farmers have committed suicide from 2006 to 2014 in Dhamangaon taluka of the district, the villagers informed the Congress leader. (With inputs from PTI)