Rahul's Telangana padyatra to focus farmer woes on Friday

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi will embark on a 15-km padyatra in Adilabad district of Telangana on Friday, highlighting the woes of farmers over which he has taken tenaciously on the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.
The Congress here also looks at Rahul's visit to Telangana as a morale booster to party's rank and file as he is visiting the state for the first time since its bifurcation from Andhra Pradesh on June 2 last year.
Despite mounting an aggressive campaign and claiming credit for separate statehood of Telangana, Congress had last year lost elections to the Telengana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) led by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.

The Congress leaders here, however, said Rahul's visit is to primarily focus on the plight of the farmers.
"Rahul's campaign is meant to highlight the woes of the farmers in the country in general and that of the state in particular," said Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) working president Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka.
Rahul will be arriving in the state capital tomorrow and stay in the night at Nirmal town in Adilabad district, Vikramarka said.

On his arrival here in the afternoon, he will briefly interact with student leaders of Osmania University here, who have been agitating on employment issues.
Rahul would then proceed to Nirmal by road and may stop at a few points enroute. Next day he will proceed on 'padayatra' from Vadiyala village at 7 am, the TPCC leader said.

"He will meet and console the families of farmers who have allegedly committed suicide due to agrarian distress in Telangana and console them," he added.
Also, Rahul will address farmers at Koratikal village at around 4 pm and return to Hyderabad after the event before leaving for Delhi by 8 pm.
Rahul has aggressively raised farmers' issues in Parliament and also reached out to farmers in Punjab and the Vidarbha region of Maharastra.
As many as 936 farmers have committed suicide in the state during recent times, the TPCC chief said.
Telangana opposition parties Congress, TDP, BJP and others too have alleged that a large number of farmers have committed suicide due to agrarian crisis since the TRS government came to power last year, a charge denied by the administration.