Rahul's rally prestige issue for Delhi Cong

The Delhi Congress has formed 10 committees to oversee preparations for vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s farmers’ rally at Ramlila Maidan on Sunday – a show which would be the Congress second-in-command’s first public appearance after a two- month-long leave.

 “You could see Rahul Gandhi version 2.0 at the rally,” said a Delhi Congress leader, adding that Congress President Sonia Gandhi will also address the farmers at the event.

 The Congress leaders are working overtime to make the event a grand success as the party’s attempt to woo farmers follows separate rallies in the city’s rural belt by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of the AAP and Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari of the BJP over the issue of compensation to rain-hit farmers.

“Over one lakh farmers from Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and other states will participate in the kisan rally,” Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee chief spokesperson Sharmistha Mukherjee said.

Closely watched
The rally holds special significance for Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken, a former Union minister, whose leadership and organisational skills would be closely watched by the
central leadership at the event.

“This is the biggest rally of such a scale being organised by the Delhi Congress unit after the election rallies and the birth anniversary celebrations of first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru,” said a local leader, adding that the event’s success is a matter of prestige for Team Maken.

Mukherjee, daughter of President Pranab Mukherjee, said the rally is being organised by the Congress to protest against the ‘draconian’ anti-farmer Land Acquisition Ordinance, passed by the BJP-led Union Government.

Maken is heading the reception and co-ordination committees, with 10 sub-committees under him, to make all the preparations for the rally, she said.

Special sub committees for transport, accommodation, venue, water arrangement and sanitation have been formed by the party and Delhi leaders have been tasked to head the panels for the preparations of the rally.

All the Congress Working Committee members and Congress general secretaries will also attend the rally, Sharmistha Mukherjee said.

Block level leaders from Delhi’s rural constituencies have been advised to get maximum supporters to the venue, said a party source.

Mukherjee said that the “unjust, anti-farmer and anti-agriculture” ordinance will be opposed by the Congress as, if implemented, it would rob lakhs of people of their livelihood.

Only a few people would benefit from the compensation, as there were lakhs of people dependent on agriculture, other than the land holders, she said.