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Ghata Gaon
(Haryana): Pitching for farmers ahead of state assembly
polls this year and 2014 general elections, Corporate Affairs
Minister Sachin Pilot Sunday said the UPA government would not
hesitate to bring another loan waiver for them, if needed.
Addressing a farmers' rally in this village in Gurgaon district to
mark the birth anniversary of his father and former union minister
Rajesh Pilot, Sachin Pilot said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)
government, in its first term, waived loans of Rs.70,000 crore
concerning small farmers.
"If there is a need (for another loan waiver), we will not
hesitate," he said.
The loan waiver benefited the Congress in the 2009 general
elections.
The minister said the government was cautioned against the loan
waiver by those who did not know the reality.
"They said: 'What are you doing?' Farmers will be spoilt. They do
not know the reality. If the farmer has the burden of loan, he
does not get sleep," he said.
The rally was preceded by unveiling of Rajesh Pilot's statue near
the venue in Ghata Gaon village in Gurgaon by Haryana Chief
Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
He also named a road adjoining the statue after Rajesh Pilot.
The rally, attended by young Congress leaders including MP
Deepender Singh Hooda and Minister of State for Defence Jitendera
Singh, saw repeated references to the leadership of the party's
newly-appointed vice-president Rahul Gandhi.
Rao Inderjit Singh, the Congress MP from Gurgaon, made a veiled
reference to sycophancy in the party and said he remembered Rajesh
Pilot's speech at All India Congress Committee's Kolkota session
for speaking out against it.
Rajesh Pilot, who was a prominent farmers' leader of the Congress
and represented Bharatpur and Dausa in the Lok Sabha, died in a
road accident in 2000.
Rao Inderjit Singh said young leaders such as Sachin Pilot were
keen to take the country on the path of faster development.
Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who spoke after Sachin Pilot, had to face
some odd moments as sections of crowd started dispersing soon
after he took the mike.
Sachin Pilot stood up to urge the gathering to carefully listen to
the chief minister. Hooda too urged the gathering to sit down.
In his speech, Bhupinder Singh Hooda hailed Rajesh Pilot as a
leader who was "true friend of farmers" and was fearless in his
expression.
He said Sachin Pilot was a reflection of his father.
"When Sachin Pilot was speaking, it appeared the soul of Rajesh
Pilot was speaking," Hooda said.
Referring to Rahul Gandhi and other young leaders of the Congress,
Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the country's future was safe in their
hands.
In his speech, Sachin Pilot, minister of state (independent
charge) Corporate Affairs, said it was important to elect a leader
capable of keeping all communities united.
The 35-year-old minister said young leaders will be evaluated for
the opportunities they create for youth and the work they do for
farmers.
The MP from Ajmer said many children of farmers were now occupying
high positions in the government and politics according to wishes
of his late father.
He said Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Sonia Gandhi had
provided the young MPs an opportunity to work in the front ranks
of the government.
Deepender Singh Hooda, an MP from Rohtak, said the decision to
allow foreign direct investment in retail was in the interest of
farmers.
"BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) was concerned about middlemen," he
said.
Praising Sachin Pilot and calling him his elder brother, Deepender
Singh Hooda said when the young leader gets up in parliament,
"everybody wants to know what he will speak".
Rama Pilot, mother of Sachin Pilot, said her son would continue to
serve the people in the footsteps of her husband and said their
support to her family was a constant source of strength.
Among those present were Congress legislators from Haryana, Uttar
Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan.
Congress workers from Rajasthan told IANS that many supporters of
Sachin Pilot had travelled from the state to take part in the
function.
They said the Gujjar community and farmers in Gurgaon and its
adjoining areas wanted to honour Rajesh Pilot for the work he had
done for them.
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