Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Monday called upon the government to quickly respond to address the plight of the farmers hit by rains and hailstorms last week.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Monday called upon the government to quickly respond to address the plight of the farmers hit by rains and hailstorms last week. The government assured the Centre would proactively address the issue of the farmers.
The Congress leader had given a notice for adjournment of the business of the Lok Sabha to discuss the issue of the rain and hailstorm-affected farmers. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, however, disallowed the adjournment notice, but allowed the Congress vice-president to briefly raise the issue.
Mr Gandhi, while taking about the plight of the farmers, stressed that the assistance, as had been in the previous years, should not be late.
As soon as the House met for the day, Mr Gandhi raised the issue of heavy rains and hailstorm which have lashed north Indian states in the past two days. “The rains and hailstorms have damaged the standing crops. The government should take immediate action to provide relief to the affected farmers,” said Mr Gandhi, who urged the Centre to send a team to assess the damage and demanded a statement by agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh in the House.
The Congress vice-president stressed the need for the Centre to hasten the provision of relief to the affected farmers and like last time, this assistance should not reach late.
Responding to the concerns raised by Mr Gandhi, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs M Venkaiah Naidu said he has spoken with the Agriculture Minister on the “serious” issue, who is in touch with state governments. He added that the agriculture minister may make a statement in the House in a day or two after collecting information from the concerned state governments.
Later, leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjuna Kharge expressed satisfaction on government’s assurance and thanked the Speaker for having allowed Mr Gandhi to briefly speak on the issue.
Rain and hailstorms lashed several parts of North India, including Delhi, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana over the weekend and early Monday morning. According to reports, rains have flattened wheat, mustard and coriander crops in the states.
