Sonia cultivates Rajasthan farmers

It is difficult to miss the irony. As Congress chief Sonia Gandhi reached the Tonk district of Rajasthan to console the bereaved families of those killed in the June 13 firing for demanding water for their crop, heavy rains lashed the area.

Gandhi's much-publicised visit was aimed at giving her an image boost after the Congress' wrong turns in Jharkhand and Bihar.

Terming the firing "barbaric", Gandhi said the Centre would co-operate and extend all possible help to Rajasthan, if it came up with a plan to provide water to its parched areas.

"It is shocking. One cannot understand how and why this (firing) was done. People have died," she said after she called on the families of the bereaved in Bhawari and Jhirana villages.

She also announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the kin of the dead, who included a woman, and Rs 10,000 for the injured in the firing in Sohella village. Farmers were demanding release of adequate water from the Beesalpur dam to the Tordisagar catchment area, where their farms are located.

After her visit to the Sahadat Hospital, where some of the injured are admitted, she said, "They (the farmers) were very sad." But she did not reply when asked about the possibility of the dismissal of the Vasundhara Raje government in the state.

Gandhi visited the houses of all the five persons who had died in the firing and expressed condolences to the bereaved families in Bawari, Jhirana and Sohella villages.

She also enquired about the health of the injured undergoing treatment in the Tonk district hospital.

Gandhi reached the Tonk district headquarters at 10.30 am and proceeded in a helicopter to Bavari and then drove to Jhirana and Sohella villages to express her sympathies with the families of the persons killed in the firing.

The families submitted a memorandum to her seeking action against the police officials involved in the firing and also release of water from the Beesalpur dam for their crop.

The Jat Mahasabha in the district submitted a memorandum demanding 49 cases against farmers who took part in the June 13 demonstration, including those who died in the firing, be withdrawn.

Gandhi was accompanied by senior Congress leaders from the state including Sisram Ola, Namonarayan Meena and Ashok Gehlot.

This not the first time that a high-profile politician or a party has used the water scarcity in Rajasthan to promote themselves.

In a similar move, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had provided drought relief to Kota and other parts of Rajasthan in a much-publicised campaign in 2002.