Congress Party president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday praised farmers for attending the Kisan Rally organized at the Ram Lila Ground outside the walled city of Old Delhi, saying their presence in such large numbers had strengthened her and the party's resolve to take on the NDA regime and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of the Land Acquisition Bill as well as on other anti-poor policies.
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Addressing the large gathering of farmers in sweltering heat, Sonia Gandhi said, "By coming here today in such large numbers, you have strengthened our resolve. We are here to send a strong message to the Prime Minister and his government: 'Enough is enough.' (Ab Bahut ho Chuka Hai)."
She said it was unacceptable for the NDA regime and Prime Minister Modi not to do anything to ease the misery of the farmers affected by crop failure and unseasonal weather.
"Unseasonal rain has destroyed the lives of the farmers and the Modi Sarkar has done nothing. The relief that is being announced for farmers is now next to nothing. It feels as if they are rubbing salt in your wounds," the Congress president said.
"The BJP is conspiring against the farmers. They have introduced amendments to a law that they had consented to, and is pro-farmer. The amendments are being made to benefit corporates and industrialists," she stated further.
"They (NDA Government) do not bother if you want to sell your land or not. If the land is not utilized within five years, there is no guarantee when will you get it back. The government isn't ready to procure wheat from farmers, but is signing import deals with Australia," Sonia Gandhi said.
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"The PM who proclaimed 'sabka saath, sabka vikaas' (Progress with and for everyone) has abandoned the farmers. The government is saying one thing and doing another," Gandhi added.
Earlier, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said the nation's farmers were living in fear these days, and were convinced that the government of the day has forgotten them and their contributions to India's welfare.
Launching a direct broadside against the NDA Government and its Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi, who has just returned after a 57-day sabbatical, said, "Farmers are afraid of the changes that are being introduced to the (land) bill we had brought in 2013. Today, when a farmer goes to bed, he doesn't know what will happen to his land the next day. He is living in fear."
"Whenever the Congress Government could help the farmers, we did it. We waived off farmers' loans worth 70,000 crore rupees. We brought in MNREGA for the labourers. Whatever we did, we did for the poor. We have always worked for the poor and the weak, and we will continue to fight their battle," Rahul Gandhi said.
Former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh said that Prime Minister Modi had been exposed for not fulfilling his electoral promise to work for the farmers and the poor.
"During the poll campaign, Modiji used to go around saying they will work for farmers, but nothing of that sort has happened. The (NDA's) ordinance against the 2013 bill that the UPA introduced was and is aimed at wiping out all benefits for farmers. We will fight against these laws," he said.