Sonia Gandhi has a great concern for the farmers

Congress President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi always stressed that development means welfare of the poor. If the poor and underprivileged sections of the society are not getting the benefits and they are not able to be a part of the path of progress, we cannot claim development, she always said.

In her recent campaign for the Congress in Gujarat, Sonia Gandhi had slammed the BJP government for its false claims of development. She said that the tribals in the state are in distress and pain.  “The welfare and development of Adivasis are our prime concern but the present BJP government has not been serious in this matter. They have almost killed the Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojana”. “You must be remembering that the UPA Government at the Centre had waived off loan worth crores  of the poor farmers but still the condition of the farmers in Gujarat remains pathetic because of the anti-people policies of the BJP government in the state”, she added. 

“Farmers have committed suicide. There is no water or electricity available,” she added. The Saurashtra region, which has 52 Assembly seats, saw a spate of suicides by farmers following poor monsoon this year. The Congress had announced Rs 1 lakh compensation to kin of each of the deceased farmers.

Hitting out at BJP’s manifesto that promised 50 lakh houses in the next 50 years, Sonia Gandhi argued “Now, at the time of elections, they remember houses. They are promising 50 lakh houses. How many units will they construct per day? What kind of dream are they selling?” Dismissing Modi’s claims of Gujarat being a power-surplus state, she said, “Even today, 57 areas are dark zones and 4.5 lakh farmers are waiting for electricity connections even as the state is selling power to other states.”