Rahul Gandhi addresses farmers in Haryana
Haryana:
Taking his manifesto dialogues for the national election to farmers today, Rahul Gandhi targeted Narendra Modi in Haryana, saying "the BJP thinks one man can run the country."
The Congress vice president was addressing some 400 farmers in the Sonepat district, with Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh playing moderator, when he liberally took swipes at the BJP and Mr Modi, its prime ministerial candidate.
"The BJP thinks power should be central, the Congress believes in power to the people, especially farmers," he told the gathering at Gannaur, less than a two-hour drive from Bhatta Parsaul in Uttar Pradesh where he joined farmer protests against land acquisition in 2011.
"Our politics is about giving you an option, not about giving you orders...that's BJP's work," said the 43-year-old, while stressing that no land should be acquired without the permission of a village council or panchayat.
Pitching the Congress-led central government's policies for farmers and rural areas, he accused the BJP of trying to appropriate Congress' policies.
"Senior leaders of the BJP like (Atal Behari) Vajpayee, (LK) Advani mocked computers. They said what will happen with computers? Later, Pramod Mahajan claimed credit for bringing in PCs. Take Sardar Patel, they want to take credit for everything...After a few years, they will claim credit for the Food Security Act and MNREGA (rural jobs scheme)," he said.
The Congress leader said he hoped he would see a day when such a gathering would have an equal number of men and women.
Ahead of the national election, due by May, Mr Gandhi has held a series of interactions with different groups of people, for feedback that he says will be incorporated in his party's manifesto.
The Congress vice president was addressing some 400 farmers in the Sonepat district, with Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh playing moderator, when he liberally took swipes at the BJP and Mr Modi, its prime ministerial candidate.
"The BJP thinks power should be central, the Congress believes in power to the people, especially farmers," he told the gathering at Gannaur, less than a two-hour drive from Bhatta Parsaul in Uttar Pradesh where he joined farmer protests against land acquisition in 2011.
"Our politics is about giving you an option, not about giving you orders...that's BJP's work," said the 43-year-old, while stressing that no land should be acquired without the permission of a village council or panchayat.
Pitching the Congress-led central government's policies for farmers and rural areas, he accused the BJP of trying to appropriate Congress' policies.
"Senior leaders of the BJP like (Atal Behari) Vajpayee, (LK) Advani mocked computers. They said what will happen with computers? Later, Pramod Mahajan claimed credit for bringing in PCs. Take Sardar Patel, they want to take credit for everything...After a few years, they will claim credit for the Food Security Act and MNREGA (rural jobs scheme)," he said.
The Congress leader said he hoped he would see a day when such a gathering would have an equal number of men and women.
Ahead of the national election, due by May, Mr Gandhi has held a series of interactions with different groups of people, for feedback that he says will be incorporated in his party's manifesto.
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