Rahul Gandhi voices support for protesting farmers, BJP hits back

A day after thousands of farmers gathered at a mahapanchayat in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday voiced support for the protesting farmers and said they are fearless and standing resolutely.

The BJP attacked Gandhi and alleged that he was trying to fuel propaganda by tweeting an old picture "to claim success of the mahapanchayat".

"Standing resolutely and fearless, here are the 'Bharat Bhagya Vidhata'," Gandhi tweeted in Hindi along with a photograph of a massive public gathering.

Gandhi used the hashtag of 'FarmersProtest' along with his tweet.

Attacking Gandhi, the BJP's Information and Technology Department head Amit Malviya tweeted, "That Rahul Gandhi has to use an old picture to claim success of the Mahapanchayat just shows how the propaganda to call it a well attended 'farmer' agitation hasn't worked."

"It is political. With religious slogans raised, it leaves no one in doubt, what the actual motivation is!" he said.

Slamming Malviya, Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Chaudhary said the photograph tagged by Gandhi was from a kisan panchayat organised by his party in Shamli and asked what the BJP leader wanted to say.

Thousands of farmers from Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring states on Sunday gathered in Muzaffarnagar for the 'kisan mahapanchayat' and vowed to continue their stir till the three contentious agri laws enacted by the Centre are scrapped.

The event was organised by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) which has been spearheading the agitation against the laws since November last year.

The farmers' protest at Delhi's borders against the three contentious laws has been going on for over nine months.

They have been demanding the repeal of the laws which they feel will do away with the MSP system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporations.

The government has insisted that these laws have given farmers a new opportunity to sell their produce and rejected claims that they are aimed at doing away with the minimum support price regime and farm mandis.