On the dusty road again: Rahul marches 8 km in Rajasthan

Hearing farmers’ complaints during the padyatra, the Congress vice president attacked the PM and said that the party would not let the BJP proceed on the land bill.

Gearing up to take on the government in Parliament, Rahul Gandhi on Thursday vowed that Congress will not allow the National Democratic Alliance government to acquire “even an inch of land” in the country as he stepped up his campaign on the land bill issue with a foot-march in Rajasthan.

The Congress vice president, who has reached out to farmers with padyatras in various parts of the country including Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh in recent months ratcheting up the pressure on the Centre, also attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party governments over the issue of corruption.

“The prime minister said he won’t allow corruption (na khaoonga, na khane dunga). He never said that I will stay quiet,” Rahul said raising the issues of Vyapam scam and Lalit Modi controversy.

In Rajasthan, corruption was at chief minister’s level, he alleged.

Accusing the NDA government of denying rights to the poor, farmers and tribals, Rahul said, “I want to assure you that Congress will not let the NDA government have a single inch of land. We will not let them move forward.”

Rahul held a ‘public hearing’ in Khotawali village where farmers shared there grievances with him.

He met veteran Congress leader Shyokaran Ram at his residence before commencing the eight-kilometre march accompanied by former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, state Congress committee president Sachin Pilot and AICC general secretary Gurudas Kamat.

The 8-km long ‘padyatra’ was slated to conclude at Amarsinghwala village where Rahul will interact with farmers.

Rahul Gandhi had seized on the farmers’ issues to attack the Narendra Modi government during the Budget Session, alleging that the “suit-boot ki sarkar” had neglected farmers and was only working for crony capitalists.

The Congress is opposing the government’s land bill, rallying the opposition on the issue. The party has made it clear that it will not relent on it in the monsoon session of Parliament which starts on July 21.

The Congress vice-president had earlier visited Punjab, Maharashtra and Telangana where he interacted with farmers and undertook padyatras. He had aggressively taken on the Modi government inside and outside Parliament on the land bill issue and demand for relief to farmers hit by unseasonal rains.