KOTA: Congress President Sonia Gandhi today said her party would bring pressure on the Rajasthan government and the Centre to provide maximum relief to the farmers whose crops were damaged in the recent unseasonal rainfall in north India.
Talking to farmers at Darbiji village in the district here, she also said that Congress would support any move by the government to make changes in rules for extending the greatest possible relief to farmers.
On a day-long visit to the state to meet farmers who have suffered crop and livestock losses due to unseasonal rainfall and hailstorm earlier this week, Sonia said she was “shocked to find that no relief has reached (the farmers) till now”.
Noting the extent of the damage, she said that relief should reach the affected farmers in time.
“People have told me and I have seen for myself, the damage is heavy. People are left with nothing to eat. They are demanding that the compensation should be adequate and be given to them as soon as possible,” she said.
She also said that Congress would ask the government to provide adequate compensation for the farmers.
“We will struggle for the farmers. It is evident that the (state and central) governments have a responsibility because they have everything, money, etc. to help the people,” Sonia said.
She also demanded that the government of Rajasthan should waive cooperative loans and electricity bills of the farmers who have suffered extensive losses.
PCC President Sachin Pilot said that the NDA government should announce a big relief package for Rajasthan like what was extended to Jammu and Kashmir after last year’s floods.
Earlier, after landing at Kota airport, Sonia went first to Darbiji village in Sultanpur Panchayat, nearly 35-km from the city, where she met the farmers and expressed solidarity with them.
The Congress chief, Gandhi, who was accompanied by AICC General Secretary Gurudas Kamat, former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and others, then went to Morpa village where she interacted with farmers and women for about 20 minutes before leaving for the return journey to New Delhi.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan Congress leaders have alleged that there were gaps in the security arrangement for Sonia’s visit as they claimed that some youths jumped a barricade and raised chants of “(Narendra) Modi Zindabad” and “(Vasundhara) Raje Zindabad” as the Congress chief was interacting with farmers.-PTI
