Rahul Gandhi met President Ram Nath Kovind to demand the farm laws to be taken back by calling a joint session of the Parliament.
As farmers protesting at various border points near Delhi remain adamant over their demand to repeal the the three new farm laws, the Congress on Thursday used the agitation to step up attack on the Modi government at the Centre. A delegation of the Congress leaders met President Ram Nath Kovind demanding the laws to be taken back by calling a joint session of the Parliament.
The Congress' team headed by Rahul Gandhi handed over a memorandum signed by 'two crore farmers' against the farm laws.
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After handing over the memorandum to the president, Rahul Gandhi, along with Ghulam Nabi Azad and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, said anyone standing against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, be it farmers, labourers or even RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, "will be dubbed as a terrorist".
"If farmers are standing against him, they are dubbed as terrorists. If labourers stand, they will also be dubbed as terrorists. One day, if Mohan Bhagwat stands, then he will also be dubbed as a terrorist," the former Congress president said.
'India is now an imaginary democracy'
The Congress had planned to hold a march from Parliament building to Rashtrapati Bhavan, however, after the police denied permission the party staged a protest.
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Congress MPs and leaders, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, were detained by the Delhi Police and released later, after they staged a sit-in protest outside the party office in violation of prohibitory orders.
"India is now an imaginary democracy," Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet after meeting with the President.
Slamming the government for not listening to farmers' demands, Priyanka Gandhi said the government is committing a sin by name-calling the protesting farmers.
"It is a sin to brand farmers as anti-nationals. If the government is terming the farmers' protest as sedition, it is a sin. The government is committing a sin by calling them names. The government is arrogant, it is only doing politics and has no respect for farmers or jawans, who are the sons of farmers," she said.
BJP challenges Rahul Gandhi for open debate
Responding to Rahul Gandhi's allegations, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party challenged the Congress leader for a debate over farm laws and other issues.
"I challenge the Congress and Rahul Gandhi for an open debate. I will prove how the Congress always ignored farmers' interests and how Modi empowered them. Farmers always demanded remunerative price for their produce but the Congress never did so," Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said speaking during a press conference.
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar also took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi and said that even the Congress does not take seriously whatever he says.
"If Gandhi was so concerned about farmers, his party when in power could have done something for them. The Congress has always been against farmers," Tomar said.
In its 2019 election manifesto, Gandhi had said if the Congress came to power, the government would end agricultural produce market committee (APMC), ensure trade without mandi tax, and promote contract farming, the minister added.
(With inputs from PTI)
