Rahul Gandhi gets back to business

Will meet farmer delegations on Saturday in run up to Kisan rally on April 19

Returning to work after a two-month “introspection leave”, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi spent Friday meeting party functionaries and perusing reports from his staff.

On Saturday morning, he will meet representatives of farmers’ organisations in preparation for the much-hyped Kisan and Khet Mazdoor Rally on Sunday.

Aimed to take on the government’s land Bill — described as “anti-farmer” by the Congress — the rally is expected to be a Rahul comeback vehicle. Naturally, no effort has been spared to make it a success. On Friday, too, the organising committee — comprising senior leaders and chaired by Digvijay Singh — met All India Congress Committee secretaries to take stock of the preparations.

Congress’s Haryana general secretary in-charge Shakeel Ahmed told Business Standard: “He (Rahul Gandhi) will meet farmers from Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab (on Saturday).”

These states, neighbouring the national capital, have been most adversely affected by unseasonal rain. “The farmers are in great distress,” said Ahmed.

Congress president and Rahul’s mother Sonia Gandhi visited these states earlier.

Rahul is expected to be the main speaker at the rally to be held at the Ramlila grounds. Radio jingles in Haryanvi and Braj Bhasha are already wooing supporters.

The party also released slogans on social media, such as “Khet jot na chodenge/har aandhi ka muh modenge (Won’t leave tilling the land/ turn around every tempest)” and “Bhoomi ka bhay satata hain/Modi ka naam batata hai (We’re scared for our lands / Modi strikes fear in our hearts)” on Friday evening.

The rally has also abated the factionalism afflicting the party in Punjab and Haryana, at least for now.

Instead of fighting each other, the factions are competing to bring more and more supporters to the rally.

Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who still has considerable influence on the MLAs, has asked his supporters to sport pink turbans at the rally, while rival group led by state unit preisdent Ashok Tanwar will wear Gandhi topis.

Congress is confident that the agitation against the land Bill would provide it with the much-needed wind in its sails to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.