Farmers who took away cots branded thief, but Vijay Mallya called 'defaulter': Rahul Gandhi

SAHJANI (Gorakhpur): Defending Uttar Pradesh's impoverished farmers who walked away with khaats at the end of Rahul Gandhi's maiden Khaat Sabha in Deoria on Tuesday, Rahul said that while farmers were being branded "thieves" for taking cots, industrialists like Vijay Mallya, who has escaped from the country, is called a "defaulter."

Rahul made the barb during his door-to-door campaign in Sahjani village of Gorakhpur, where he had gone to meet farmers who pledged their support to Congress' campaign to demand a loan waiver package for them. During his visit, Rahul also stopped to have a cup of tea at the house of Ram Bachan Yadav in the village.

Through out the stay, the Congress Vice President attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his alleged anti-people policies. Rahul said, "Janta trast, Modiji mast" (Masses harassed, Modi ji having fun) at one corner meeting before repeating it several times over and making it the leitmotif of the second day of the UP Kisan outreach.

Waving to the crowds who turned up in Gorakhpur, signing autographs every now and then, Rahul also made a barb, yet again, on the frequency of the Prime Minister's foreign tours. He said, "I want to remind Modiji that he is the Prime Minister of India. He keeps travelling to other countries all the time, but he seems to have forgotten the poor condition of his own people in the country."

During his Gorakhpur road show, Rahul also repeated the Congress' campaign message and its farmer outreach. "Congress is demanding three things; loan waiver, electricity bills to be halved, and for the MSP to be settled in favour of the farmers," he said.