Rahul Gandhi has sought to set the electoral discourse with a simple question: If a few richest capitalists can be helped by the government, why not the poorest?

The Congress leader has been trying to frame this question for the last few days by explaining to the masses that the Narendra Modi government wrote off loans worth Rs 16 lakh crore that 25-30 industrialists owed to banks, an amount that could have sustained the rural job guarantee scheme MGNREGA for millions of poor for 24 years. He dramatically declared: “If Modi can help the rich, we will see to it that the poor too get similar benefits”.

On Thursday, Rahul was addressing a farmers’ conference in Nashik which was attended by INDIA partners Sharad Pawar, Sanjay Raut and others during the Nyay Yatra that is in its last stage in Maharashtra. The gathering, mostly unhappy onion producers, must have emboldened the Opposition parties which have extended their support to the agitating farmers who had assembled in Delhi on Thursday.

While all the leaders portrayed Narendra Modi as “anti-farmer”, Rahul alone linked the Prime Minister’s politics to the corporate, alleging that all his policies — even those meant for farmers — were designed to benefit the rich and powerful. He cited the examples of the crop insurance scheme and the export-import policy which had helped the industry on the pretext of aiding the farmers. He promised to frame policies to protect the farmers if INDIA came to power, apart from repeating his pledge on a legal guarantee for MSP and farm-loan waiver. He also promised to keep farmers off the GST ambit.

Rahul said: “The BJP says MSP can’t be given. A leader who doesn’t feel the pain of the farmers’ struggle can’t protect their interests. Modi weakened the armed forces that protect the country from external threats by bringing in the Agniveer scheme. Farmers protect the country too and it is the duty of the government to protect them. Has Modi waived a single rupee that farmers, workers, and students owed to banks? But he waived loans worth Rs 16 lakh crore for industrialists.”

Other Congress leaders such as Nana Patole and Balasaheb Thorat argued that the farmers’ plight has worsened between 2014 and 2014. Pawar appealed to the farmers to give strength to Rahul and change the government at the Centre as Modi’s policies were harming their interests. “Modi is unconcerned with farmers’ plight. Farmers are protesting, committing suicide but it doesn’t affect the government.”

Although Uddhav Thackeray was not present himself, his aide Sanjay Raut said: “Rahul Gandhi walked from Kanyakumari to Kashmir to unite the country. He met millions of people and talked to thousands to understand the ground reality, not to deliver his own ‘mann ki baat’. People in his Yatra are not hired crowds as is brought for Modi’s and Amit Shah’s rallies. What Modi ki guarantee? The Bharat Jodo Yatra has given one guarantee — Modi is out. Shah is gone. Sab chor-lafange gaye.”

Explaining that the Congress had accepted all the demands of the farmers, party communications chief Jairam Ramesh said: “People have a short memory. They have forgotten that 700 farmers died protesting against Modi’s three farm laws which he was forced to withdraw. Even now, the Haryana government has threatened to impose National Security Act (NSA) on protesting farmers and attacked
them using drones. Modi diluted the Land Acquisition Act. His policy is to respect chanda-data (donor) and insult anna-data (farmers).”