Farmers depend on rail, don't have pvt jets: Rahul

Gonda: Even as Congress put out a 11-point charter explaining why it was demanding a roll back in the NDA government's decision to impose surge pricing on train tickets, Rahul Gandhi addressed the issue more succinctly at a farmers' meeting in Gonda. Addressing a 'Khaat Sabha' during his UP Kisan Yatra, Rahul said, "Farmers in our country are committing suicide. They want to move from villages to cities.For them, the most important means of transport is the Indian rail. They can only travel by train."
Hammering away for the third consecutive day at the theme of poor farmers versus rich industrialists, and the Modi government's tilt towards the latter-Rahul's constant refrain during his UP Kisan Yatra-he added, "Farmers don't have private jets. Narendra Modi ji says he runs a government of the poor. If that is true, why has he increased the railway fare so much? On the one hand, you waive loans of rich industrialists, on the other, you don't even compensate poor farmers for their farm losses, don't deliver on the promise of jobs, and also fail to increase MSP."
Repeatedly attacking Prime Minister Modi at every meeting since he began his month-long farmer outreach from Deoria on September 6, Rahul said again that the 'globe-trotting PM' should also look after the welfare of the poor and the farmers in the country.
"Hum Modiji ko batana chahte hain ki thoda sa dhyaan wo Hindustan ki gareeb janata ko bhi de dein. Zaroor pradhan mantri ko Obama ji se galey milna hota hai, haath milana hota hai, par Hindustan mein gareeb bhi hain, yuva bhi hain, kisan bhi hain, mazdoor bhi hain, unki bhi madad honi chahiye."
In an interactive session with the local farmers who complained of unpaid sugarcane dues, sugar mills shutting down, joblessness and high input costs, Rahul said, "Sugar mills in this region were set up by the Congress. I give you an assurance from this stage that if the Congress comes to power, defunct sugar mills will be revived and you will get the cane dues that the mills owe you."
Urging the UP farmers to stand with the Congress, Rahul also tried to galvanise the farm community into demanding their rights. He said the UP farm community had the collective strength to ensure that once their written demand for a loan waiver package reached the PM, the government would be forced to announce a package for farmers.
On Thursday, Rahul also attempted to clear the air on the Congress's Brahmin outreach, and tried to allay fears that the party, through its choice of Sheila Dikshit as CM face, was not trying to project itself as a party of one caste or community.
"I want to assure you that while Sheila ji may be the CM candidate for Congress, ours will be a government for all, where every caste and religion is represented equally," Rahul said. Rahul said, "Modi ji made many promises he didn't kept. But one thing he did was to waive Rs 1.10 lakh crore in loans to his industry friends. We started a yatra from Deoria to delhi for three reasons. Because we want to tell Modiji that if you can waive loans for the rich, then you must also waive loans for the farmers. Help your friends, but you must, also, help farmers."