Congress leader Rahul Gandhi promised a sharp focus on issues related to farming in the party’s manifesto in the next Assembly elections.
“It will be prepared after the widest possible consultations with all stakeholders,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi’s nationwide ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ has entered Telangana. On the 50th day, a group of farm activists and representatives of non-governmental organisations and farmers’ unions highlighted some key challenges the Telangana farmers face .
“The issues included suicides by tenant farmers, absence of crop insurance, disaster relief and the issues regarding Dharani land records portal,” senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet.
“About 30 per cent of farmers in Telangana are tenants and they account for 80 per cent of 6,500 suicides since 2014. TRS Government has failed miserably to provide any relief to bereaved families,” Rahul Gandhi was told.
He met with the widows struggling to make both ends meet.
The farmers also told him the State didn’t have any crop insurance scheme, nor has it given any compensation for crop losses during natural disasters.
“This has deprived lakhs of farmers of compensation when there is crop loss, the frequency of which has increased due to climate change.” the said.
The much talked about Rythu Bandhu didn’t benefit tenant farmers and cultivators.
Rahul Gandhi felt that tenant farmer and those who till the land must get access to all schemes.