Why did such a big farmers’ movement happen?

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra asked this question at a rally in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu on Wednesday to explain to the people that leaders take indifferent decisions when public welfare is not the central concern in their mind, forcing people to protest. “A leader must have a deep understanding of socio-political realities and a clear vision for the future," she said.

Priyanka said the farmers’ movement happened because Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted to facilitate the corporate takeover of agriculture trade. He made laws that were detrimental to the interest of farmers and was determined to execute his plan despite the massive protest in which millions of farmers sat in protest for over a year at three different places on the outskirts of Delhi, she added.

“Farmers were dying in extreme weather conditions but the government was not concerned. A minister’s son mowed down farmers in Lakhimpur (Uttar Pradesh) but that minister was not removed. The government was adamant. They withdrew the farm laws only because of electoral compulsions. Only a government without commitment to public welfare, a liberal approach and compassion can do this,” she said.

Priyanka has been entreating the people to judge politicians on the basis of their ideology and performance, instead of getting misled by religious and caste considerations. She has been exhorting them to enforce accountability and decide what is good or bad politics only on the basis of their own welfare. Apart from the historic farmers’ movement, she gave many more examples to highlight Modi’s inexplicable decision-making.

Priyanka referred to demonetisation, recalling how it destroyed small and medium businesses and damaged the economy. The Agnipath short-term military recruitment scheme, she said, was another bizarre decision. She wondered how could the women’s reservation bill be passed without any possibility of its implementation in the next 10 years or more. She also pointed out that the government didn’t have money for pension but splurged on planes worth Rs 8,000 crore and a new Parliament building worth Rs 20,000 crore.

Priyanka said the rulers were not worried about delivery and the larger public good because they knew they can manage by whipping up religious passions. “They are suppressing you and worrying only about how to retain power. Modi ka lifafa khali hai (Modi’s envelope is empty). He keeps diverting your attention. But politics of diversions keep you in the same pit while the leaders and their families maintain upward mobility,” she added.

Contrasting this with the attitude of the Ashok Gehlot government, she said: “People from other states express surprise when I tell them Rajasthan offers Rs 25 lakh health insurance to all its citizens. The state has passed the Right to Health law. Our government has introduced a scheme for gig workers. Nine new universities and 309 new colleges have been opened. The state government organised Mahngai Rahat Shivirs to create a cushion against the Centre’s assault. The Congress envelope brings relief for you. Modi works for two industrialists, handing over all the national assets to them.”

The Congress has indeed tuned its politics into welfare mode; the guarantees in Karnataka are being replicated in other states.

While the Gehlot government was already giving cooking gas cylinders for Rs 500 each to beneficiaries of the Ujjwala scheme, it expanded the benefit to everybody on Wednesday. Much like Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh, the party promised financial assistance of Rs 10,000 to all woman heads of families every year, to be given in two instalments.

In Madhya Pradesh, the Congress has promised Rs 1,500 per month to women. In Karnataka, the party’s government gives Rs 2,000 and in Himachal Rs 1,500. In Telangana, the promise is for Rs 2,500 every month. The Prime Minister has fiercely condemned such schemes, calling it “revdi (freebie) culture”.