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Congress plans to hold farmers’ rallies in States

NEW DELHI: The Congress will hold farmers’ conventions and rallies in all States during this month and April.

These will highlight the measures taken by the United Progressive Alliance government for the benefit of farmers with particular reference to the Rs.60,000-crore loan waiver scheme announced in the budget.

This will be on the lines of the “thanksgiving-felicitation” rally addressed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi here on Sunday.

The All-India Congress Committee (AICC) has set deadlines for its leaders to organise conventions and workshops to highlight the expansion of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the Tribals Act. The first phase of the programme will be completed by April.

Three Congress Chief Ministers, leaders of the Legislative Party and Pradesh Congress Committee presidents from 14 States participated in a brainstorming session with party general secretaries at the AICC headquarters here on Monday. Leaders from the rest of the States will meet on Tuesday.

The Chief Ministers who attended the meeting were Y.S.Rajashekhara Reddy (Andhra Pradesh), Shiela Dixit (Delhi) and Tarun Gogoi (Assam). Before coming to the meeting, Mr. Reddy called on Ms. Gandhi and is reported to have discussed the Rajya Sabha nominations from the State and the byelections to seats that fell vacant after the resignation of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti leaders.

The AICC has asked the CLP leaders and PCC chiefs to hold conventions on the Tribal Rights Bill by March 31 in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa and Karnataka. This will be followed by district-level conventions and workshops to guide tribals and forest dwellers on how to get “pattas” for their land.

Central Ministers and AICC office-bearers will participate in the State-level rallies. Later, Mr. Manmohan Singh, Ms. Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi will address rallies in every State.

On Tuesday, Ms. Gandhi will address the general body of the Congress Parliamentary Party. On Friday, she will address a farmers’ meeting in Jagampeta in East Godavari region of Andhra Pradesh. She will launch an “aam admi” insurance scheme, inaugurate the Devadula lift irrigation project in Warangal district and the Rajiv Gandhi international airport in Hyderabad.

Party general secretary Digvijay Singh said the CLP-PCC leaders meeting discussed the publicity that was to be given to the programmes and policies of the UPA government in all districts by organising rallies. AICC general secretary Kishore Chandradeo will be the coordinator for this programme.

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