Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Punjab grain markets has created ripples in the State politics with the ruling alliance describing it as “nothing but political drama”. Terming Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Punjab as a mere eye-wash, Punjab Revenue Minister Bikram Majithia on Wednesday said that the junior Gandhi was just back from vacation and had woken up to the issue suddenly even while he did not react when farmers in the State suffered huge losses due to untimely rain and hail storm.
“The drama enacted in mandis of Punjab yesterday (Tuesday) with both prominent factions in the Punjab Congress vying with each other to catch his attention and humiliate each other is an indication of the State of the Congress party in Punjab,” said Majithia. Taking a dig at Rahul’s Tuesday visit to Punjab on the name of checking wheat procurement in the grain markets in Khanna, Sirhind and Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab BJP chief Kamal Sharma termed it “nothing but an agricultural tourism”.
“This visit of Rahul would not yield any result neither in favour of the Congress party nor the farmers of Punjab…When crop of the farmers was ruined by thundershowers and hailstorm across the region, Rahul was celebrating holidays in Bangkok. But now, he suddenly decided to visit grain markets which is a clear cut attempt to make political gains from the issue of farming,” said Sharma.
He said that the way Rahul visited via train in general class while travelling from Delhi to Punjab and later Congress released his pictures to media where he was meeting the common passengers, clearly indicates that it was a planned visit by the Gandhi scion to improve his image.
“The classic example of Rahul’s drama is the famous episode in which Rahul had meal in the house of a poor widow lady Kalavati in Vidharbha (Maharashtra) but when she needed Government support for her welfare, the Congress Government at the Centre did not pay any heed,” said the State BJP chief. He added that the SAD-BJP Government in Punjab and the NDA Government at the Centre are committed to pay back for each and every grain that farmers of Punjab are producing for the country and the Congress should not play politics over the issue in an aim to misguide the farmers.
BJP national secretary Tarun Chugh said that Rahul Gandhi has no genuine concern for farmers of India and was “only playing to the gallery”. “Congress leader, who has just returned from a 56-day introspection session, is indulging in politics of sensationalisation…The sympathy and concern displayed by Rahul Gandhi is nothing but a sham and an act to gain cheap popularity through immature acts,” said Chugh.
Chugh blamed successive Congress governments at the Centre for the damage done to the farmers which “cannot be undone in just 10 months” of new NDA Government. “It is really disturbing that Rahul instead of doing something concrete for farmers is trying to gain political mileage out of the issue,” he said.
“If Rahul is really interested to lend a helping hand to farmers, would he ask his brother-in-law Robert Vadra to return the land he acquired for peanuts due to the influence of Gandhi family…The man who is projecting himself as a messiah of farmers and is trying to play to gallery by travelling in general class of a train need to enlighten people of India, what exactly he did for the benefit and welfare of Kalawati,” he asked.
