Ambika Soni lauds Rahul Gandhi's visit to Punjab

Congress leader Ambika Soni on Wednesday hailed party vice-president Rahul Gandhi's visit to Punjab to take stock of the farmers' woes.

"Many farmers have told him about their problems. After understanding the pain of the farmers, Rahul Gandhi decided that this issue should be discussed in the Parliament today itself," said Soni.

"We know that the government has declared Rs. 4000 crore for the farmers. This issue is not about the farmers only, it is about the family of the farmers also," she added.

The Congress vice-president, who left for Punjab by train yesterday to assess the plight of the farmers, earlier in the day took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' campaign.

Speaking to the media in Chandigarh, Gandhi said the farmers contribute the maximum to the 'Make in India' initiative and added that the government should help the farming community.

"The Prime Minister talks about 'Make in India'. Who contributes more than the farmers from Punjab in 'Make in India'? The poor contributes to 'Make in India', isn't that 'Make in India'? The Central Government should help the farmers," Gandhi said.

"Farmers are the back bone of India. Wherever there is injustice towards the farmers, I will go there, listen to their problems and understand their pain," he added.

After meeting the farmers of Mandi Gobindgarh in Punjab yesterday, Gandhi had said that the Land Acquisition Bill is meant to snatch the land away from the farmers to benefit the industrialists.

"I do not know what the government is doing, it is being run by the industrialists and those who make this nation have been ignored. That is why I have come here. The law is being made to snatch the land away from farmers, to benefit the industrialists. The land belongs to farmers and will always be with them," he said.

"Farmers of Punjab give their sweat and blood, and food to the nation, and when they need help there is no one to help them. They are not getting the right price, there was hailstorm here and they have not got compensation for that," he added.

The Congress vice-president's visit to Punjab comes at a time when the farmers in the region have accused the government of tardy wheat procurement.