Charging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "no time" to meet farmers and hear their woes, Congress on Sunday said it would take the fight on the "anti-farmer" land bill to the states.
Addressing a Kisan Samman rally at the Ramlila Ground in New Delhi, party President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi vowed to fight tooth and nail any attempt to bring back the land ordinance in any form and countered the Prime Minister's charge that Congress was blocking development.
Accusing the prime minister of going back on his promises made during Lok Sabha polls and "talking hollow" after coming to power, she charged the prime minister has "no time" to meet farmers and address their woes as he has time and interest only for his "few industrialist friends".
"Yes, he has also the interest, time and money for foreign trips," the Congress President said taking a jibe at Modi's foreign visits.
Holding that a party, which fought to get India freedom from the Britishers and participated in the growth story of the nation for 60 years cannot be anti-development, Sonia said that whenever the government does not listen to the problems of the farmers and the poor, Congress will stand in its way.
"The Congress will act as an obstacle in their way whenever they stop giving an ear to peoples' problems, whenever farmers are not given Minimum Support Price, whenever drought and flood affected farmers are left at the mercy of God and the price of edible items is not brought down.
"If development means benefiting few persons, we will definitely act as a roadblock in such development," she said alleging Modi is trying to paint Congress as anti-development in order to "hide failures" of NDA government.
Hailing the farmers as "not only Annadaata but also Bhagyavidhata" (not only food giver but destiny makers" of the country, she said the farmers are undergoing one after another crisis ever since Modi government came to power.
On the land bill she told the farmers, "The fight is yet not finished. The battlefield has now only shifted from Delhi to states as the prime minister, after having failed to do it at Centre, is trying to get it done in states. We need to be all the more careful now, otherwise your struggle will go in vain and you will driven away from your land."
Terming the fight on the land issue, a fight for "not only land but honour of farmers, who treat land as mother," Rahul asked them not to trust the promise made by Modi few days back not to bring changes in UPA land law, which came after Modi government promulgated the ordinance three times to press them.
"We know what Modi ji is. He does not say what he thinks. That is why on one hand, he said that he will change the Congress law and on the other hand asked his chief ministers to bring them (the changes)."
Telling farmers that the fight is not over in Parliament, he said, "I want to tell the leaders of the Congress in states. This is not only a fight of Parliament. This has also to be fought in assemblies."
BJP fights back, says Rahul uses Modi’s name to stay in news
Hitting out at Rahul for his "suit boot" remarks against Narendra Modi, Union Minister M Venkaiah Nadu termed it as "childish and immature" and accused him of taking the name of prime minister to remain in the news.
Naidu also sought to turn the tables against Gandhi, saying Rahul's grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru and father Rajiv Gandhi too had used the "suit boot" attire.
"....now he (Rahul) is also talking about suit boot (suit boot ki sarkar), forgetting his grandfather used to wear suit boot, forgetting his father used to wear suit boot. Are you criticising your grandfather and father? Are you ridiculing them?" the parliamentary affairs minister asked.
Attacking the Congress leader for his suit-boot jibe made at an election rally in Bihar, Naidu said: "Please think before you speak, there should be some maturity in what you speak. Don't be childish and immature. Making such cheap comments against the Prime Minister of the country- that too on a personal dress...."
Pointing out that the suit presented to the prime minister was auctioned and the money was used for public purpose, he said "…I don't know who is writing his script, who is writing the speech, but they are misleading him."
Launching the Congress campaign in assembly poll-bound Bihar, Rahul had on Saturday raked up the "suit boot ki sarkar" jibe to target the Modi government, warning people that they would lose their land and livelihood if NDA came to power in the state.
Painting Modi and BJP-led NDA as a 'club of rich', he had said "While the Mahatma shed his suit and donned a dhoti as he led the poor farmers, Modi who claimed to have started as a chaiwala (tea seller) started wearing Rs 15 lakh suit after becoming prime minister."
When a reporter persisted with the issue, Naidu said "....we need not focus on him. He is trying to take the name of the Prime Minister, so that he is in the news..."
Slamming the Congress, he said it was still unable to reconcile with the reality and continuing its 'disinformation' campaign against the government.
"Words for the poor and deeds for the rich had been policy of the Congress over the years," he added.
