Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi started his weekend by interacting with farmers working in their field, driving a tractor, and taking part in paddy cultivation at Madina village of Haryana’s Sonipat district.
The Congress leader is said to have made an unscheduled stop in Haryana early on Saturday morning, while on his way to Himachal Pradesh. Local Congress leaders said that Mr. Gandhi reached Madina village amid a light drizzle at 6:40 a.m. and spent nearly two-and-a-half hours there, eating food brought by women working in the fields.
“Our pride, the farmers of India. To unite the people, you have to take everyone along. Today, Mr. @RahulGandhi interacted with our annadata farmers and toiling farm laborers in Sonipat, Haryana. This shows the sensitivity of the Congress party,” tweeted Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
‘Impromptu visit’
“It was an impromptu visit... He interacted with the villagers and the farmers working in the fields. Rahulji also took part in paddy sowing and drove a tractor,” said Jagbeer Singh Malik, the Congress MLA from Gohana in Sonipat.
“We did not have prior information about his visit. But we have in the past also seen him making such unscheduled stops to know first-hand the concerns and problems of a cross-section of society — be it truck drivers, women, students and other sections,” added the legislator, who reached the spot along with with party MLA Induraj Narwal.
The official handle of the Congress tweeted photos of Mr. Gandhi in his familiar white t-shirt and trousers. Rolling up his trousers and with his shoes in hand, the Congress leader was shown walking the muddy tracks amid irrigated fields along with a group of farmers.
‘Connecting with people’
Mr. Narwal, the MLA from Baroda in Sonipat, said that Mr. Gandhi spent time with the villagers and farmers and listened to their concerns. He also ate the food brought by the women labourers, another party leader said.
Posting various photos of Mr. Gandhi, Haryana Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said that Mr. Gandhi’s “simplicity and connection with the people are the biggest assets for all of us”.
On May 23, Mr. Gandhi had travelled in a truck from Delhi to Chandigarh on his way to Shimla, to listen to the problems faced by the truck drivers, and had also interacted with drivers at a dhaba.
It is not clear if meeting with such targeted groups is part of the next phase of jansampark [public contact], after his Bharat Jodo Yatra, but Mr. Gandhi has so far met students, civil service aspirants, and women’s groups among others in the past three months.
(with PTI inputs)
