Congress chief Sonia Gandhi visits farmers in Kota villages
Hapless farmers, who suffered huge losses to crops as well as property due to hailstorm and unseasonal rains, broke down after Sonia’s entourage left the spot.
Over the past couple of days, Janku Bai Meena waited restlessly for Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to visit her run-down hut and rain-hit wheat farm. But in the fleeting 20-second meeting with Sonia, neither Janku nor her 30-year-old son Budhdhi Ram could convey any of their miseries. So they thrust a memorandum in her hands outlining the losses suffered over the recent wet spell after Sonia said, “Phone number likhwa dijiye. Yahan baat nahi ho sakti. Baad mein call karungi. (Please give me your phone number. There is no time to talk here. We will chat later).” Janku and her son will now wait either for the phone call or assistance from the state government, whichever comes earlier.
Two villages of Kota district – Darbiji and Morpa – both roughly 40 kms away from the coaching hub, remained politically charged on Friday. Sonia, who made fleeting appearances in both the villages, left with a promise of ensuring ‘speedy relief’. “I have never seen such damage before. Farmers are complaining that they have lost all their crops and asking for help. Hum sangharsh karenge (we will fight). We will throw our weight behind the farmers and ensure the government or whichever agency has to provide relief does it at the earliest,” Sonia told reporters after meeting villagers at Darbiji village.
The top leadership including Pradesh Congress Committee chief Sachin Pilot, former CM Ashok Gehlot, party state-in-charge Gurudas Kamat, senior leaders Mamta Sharma, Ijayraj Singh trailed Sonia in a serpentine cavalcade and was conspicuous as a strong Opposition in the state. By drawing in the Congress chief, Pilot, who has been making tireless efforts at rejuvenating the decimated party, managed a considerable show of strength, an attempt that party insiders say will go a long way in boosting the morale of grassroots party workers.
“Relief in such cases always gets stuck in red tape but we have decided to use all our political might to ensure speedy remedy. The women and farmers told the Congress president that they are left with no food to eat, leave alone the damage to crops and property. We will demand for food camps to be set up so that the farmers get immediate relief,” Pilot said.
Hapless farmers, who suffered huge losses to crops as well as property due to hailstorm and unseasonal rains, broke down after Sonia’s entourage left the spot. The farmers complained that they were caught in the political crossfire and would believe the ‘netas’ only when they deliver what they promised. On Thursday, Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje made whirlwind tours of neighbouring Jhalawar and Bundi districts. On Friday while Sonia and her entourage visited the two villages in Kota, Agriculture Minister Mohanbhai Kundariya too checked on affected farmers in Digod, Devpura and Kalyanpura villages in Kota, Kapren, Khimli and Handikhera villages in Bundi and Siswali in Baran accompanied by local MP Om Birla.
“Will only ministers come or will the compensation too arrive?” Rajendra Meena, a former sarpanch, asked aloud. Tasbiri Bai choked on her tears as she said, “After some local leaders promised us that a big leader will come today and ensure we get compensation, I was anxiously waiting for this day. But now I am not sure whether anything will even happen. I could not even explain to her my plight. She just asked me the size of my farm and I told her 10 bighas. What would she make of that?”
Raje dismissed the visit as petty politics and appealed to the Opposition to join hands in providing relief. “It is unfortunate that Sonia ji came all the way to Rajasthan but did not manage to venture into the fields that were worst hit by rain and hailstorm. It is also unfortunate that over the past five years when farmers complained of similar damage to crops due to unseasonal rain and hailstorm, not once did she raise the issue in the Parliament. Now when she complains that the compensation is so low, I wish to remind everyone that the compensation was fixed by the previous UPA government and we have to bring in changes in the norms to increase it,” Raje told the Indian Express. “This is not the right time or issue to play politics over. All parties should come together and work for the affected farmers.”
Source:: Indian Express
