Everything is 'controlled by a family' in Punjab: Rahul Gandhi

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Friday reached out to the farmers of Punjab and alleged that everything is controlled by a family in the Shiromani Akali Dal-ruled state.

"Whether it is education, electricity, water, or seeds, everything is controlled by a family. And these days, the family members are not coming to meet you," he told a gathering here.

Gandhi said he was saddened to hear that that the families of the farmers, who had committed suicide, had not been given any relief yet.

"When I asked the farmers whether they got the compensation after their family members committed suicide, not one said 'yes'," he added.

The Congress vice-president also attempted to bridge the fissure in his party.

"I come here to look into your problems, to learn about the Guru Granth Sahib sacrilege cases, to meet the people who were shot at, to unite the Congress Party together (in reference to rivalry between PPCC chief Partap Singh Bajwa and former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh)," he said.