Updated: October 6, 2020 9:58:24 pm
Rahul Gandhi in Haryana with the president of the state, the head of the state Congress, Kumari Selja, and the main leaders, Bhupinder Singh Hooda. (Express Photo by Jasbir Malhi)
Congressional leader Rahul Gandhi continued to attack the Center for controversial farm laws on Tuesday, saying that farmers and workers would become “slaves to a few companies” if the measures were implemented. Addressing a demonstration in Pehowa in Haryana’s Kurukshetra district on the day of the conclusion of his’ Kheti Bachao Yatra ‘, Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of taking away farmers’ rights.
“Lakhs of people work in the mandis, where will they go if there are no mandis. Whether you want to believe it or not, remember that Rahul once told you that the land will be taken from you, ”Gandhi told the meeting where several farmers were present.
Gandhi managed to reach his rally destinations of Pehowa and Pipli amid great drama on the Haryana border with Punjab. After finishing his last rally at Sanaur in Patiala, Gandhi drove a tractor to reach the Haryana border, but the procession stopped on the road near the village of Teokar on the Pehowa border for an hour. State authorities eventually allowed three tractors to pass, including Gandhi’s.
Rahul Gandhi addressing the rally in Pehowa, Haryana.
Gandhi had shared a video of the congressional parade on the Haryana border on Twitter and said he would wait patiently for permission to continue. “We have been detained on a bridge on the Haryana border. I will not move and am happy to wait here. 1 hour, 5 hours, 24 hours, 100 hours, 1000 hours or 5000 hours, ”he tweeted.
We were stopped at a bridge on the Haryana border. I will not move and am happy to wait here.
1 hour, 5 hours, 24 hours, 100 hours, 1000 hours, or 5000 hours. pic.twitter.com/b9IjBSe7Bg
– Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 6, 2020
On the Haryana side, the head of the State Congress Kumari Selja, the main leaders Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Kiran Choudhary, Ajay Singh Yadav and the party’s Haryana affairs officer, Vivek Bansal, accompanied Rahul for the rest of the demonstration in Haryana.
Congressional rally moving towards Haryana
At the rally in Pehowa, Rahul said that in a year or two the farmers’ land would be taken over by a few “chosen” companies. He said the loss was not just for farmers, farm workers or small merchants, but for the entire country.
“When your land runs out, they will build shopping centers and apartments. We do not want such a thing to happen. Congress will not allow this to happen. I can guarantee that we will not back down one iota and continue this fight. When our government is formed, we will repeal these laws, ”Gandhi said.
The leader of Congress promised to revoke the laws if his party won power. “Congress will not allow this to happen. I can guarantee that we will not back down one iota and continue this fight. When our government is formed, we will repeal these laws, ”he said.
Meanwhile, security was tightened in front of Deputy Minister Dushyant Chautala’s home in Sirsa following a protest by two dozen farmers’ organizations seeking his resignation from the Manohar Lal Khattar government. The police fired tear gas to disperse the agitated mob.
Farmers order a Gherao at the residence of Haryana’s Chief Deputy Minister, Dushyant Chautala.
Earlier in the day, wrapping up his last rally in Sanaur in Patiala, Punjab, Rahul Gandhi said “give me free press and other key institutions and this government (Narendra Modi) will not last long.” The Modi government has forcibly taken control of all key institutions, Rahul claimed.
Congressional leader Rahul Gandhi, CM Amarinder Singh from Punjab and other congressional leaders at a tractor rally during the kissan bachao Yatra on the Bhwanigarh land reform bills in Sangrur on Monday. Express photo of Harmeet Sodhi
Rahul said that he had come to Punjab because he felt that the Modi government was committing a grave injustice to the state, and instinctively always supports the weak and the suffering. “Maybe that’s why they beat me in politics,” he said.
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