Agrarian Distress: The Unbelievable Hypocrisy Of Rahul Gandhi

Given the overwhelming evidence of indifference towards farmers and their problems under UPA-I and II, it is ironic that Rahul now positions himself as a champion of farmers’ cause.

In a desperate attempt to salvage Rahul Gandhi’s poor image the Congress party is leaving no stone unturned. From blatantly lying on the floor of the Parliament about Amethi food park to using made-for-TV jibes like “Suit-Boot Ki Sarkar”, Congress and its affiliates are making an impassioned attempt. They want to create a perception that he has finally arrived on India’s political arena, notwithstanding the fact that his leadership and the dreadful prospect of India under his Prime Ministership were outrightly rejected by the voters in the elections just a year ago.

In what seems to be a part of the series of “Rahul-resurrection” saga, Mr. Gandhi decided to tour the newly formed state of Telangana. For a party which thrives on poverty, what’s more appealing than a photo-op with an impoverished farmer while making a furious bid to restore a damaged political career?

He was initially scheduled to visit Osmania University in Hyderabad which was to be followed by a tour in Adilabad district to interact with families of the farmers who committed suicide. But he cancelled his trip to Hyderabad in the last minute leaving his party functionaries utterly disappointed.

Passionately christened “Rhythu Bharosa Yatra” (farmer-reassurance tour), Rahul was supposed to walk 15 kilometers in solidarity with the distressed farming community. However, mid-way, the scion of Gandhi-Nehru parivar gave up and continued his “padyatra” in a SUV citing large crowds as a reason.

Addressing the farmers after his tour, he lashed out at the central and state governments for their anti-farmer policies and blamed them for the farmer suicides. It is precisely this hypocrisy that begs for the record to be set straight.

Over 700 farmers have committed suicide in Telangana region in the last one year. Crisis in agricultural sector undoubtedly demands government attention and immediate intervention. However, Rahul and his party would like us to believe that it is the 12-month old NDA at the centre and TRS government in the state which are responsible for the death of the farmers and not the apathy of 10-year Congress rule in what was then the undivided state of Andhra Pradesh.

According to the White Paper released by the Government of Andhra Pradesh on the state of agriculture, 1,943 farmers in AP have killed themselves between 2004 and 2014 when  Congress was in power. Unofficial figures might be higher. It is surprising that Rahul’s heart didn’t beat for the farmers when his party was ruling the state.

Congress was in power both at the centre and the state of undivided Andhra Pradesh for 10 years without any interruption. Instead of addressing issues causing crisis in agricultural sector, the state and the central government were involved in massive corruption.

The party’s poster boy in AP Y S Rajasekhara Reddy launched the ambitious 90,000-crore irrigation scheme “Jalayagnam” which was marred with corruption scandals. His government commissioned a study by noted economist Jayati Gosh on farmer suicides but never cared to implement the important points of suggestions made by her. In its second-term, UPA at the centre and Congress government in the state whiled away time in playing petty politics with the Telangana issue bringing the administration in the state to a complete halt. Andhra and Telangana were embroiled in protests, suicides, series of shut-downs and unprecedented violence due to inefficient handling of the sensitive separate statehood issue. For five-years, farmers and their problems were completely neglected.

Not just in Telangana and Andhra, but Sonia and Manmohan led UPA’s apathy and policy-paralysis had rendered India’s farming sector directionless. Toronto-based Center for Global Health Research found that close to 1,90,000 Indians committed suicide in 2010 of whom 10% were farmers.

According to Government of India’s own census data, the number of farmers in India fell by 9 million between 2001 and 2011, a decade which was mostly under the UPA rule. In fact, National Crime Records Bureau data shows that the suicide rates among Indian farmers were 47 percent higher than they were for the rest of the population in 2011. A farmer in Andhra Pradesh was three times more likely to commit suicide than anywhere else in the country, even excluding farmers and twice likely to do so when compared to non-farmers in his own state. Nationwide, the farmer suicide rate (FSR) was 16.3 per 100,000 farmers in 2011 up from 15.8 in 2001.

Given such overwhelming evidence of indifference towards farmers and their problems under UPA-I and II, it is ironic that Rahul now positions himself as a champion of farmers’ cause.

What stopped him from preventing farmer suicides during the decade long UPA rule? It perhaps takes a defeat in elections for Gandhis to remember farmers. Farmers are merely subjects for the Congress party’s first family in their attempt to manage their image.

Agrarian crisis should ideally be a multi-partisan issue. As many more farmers commit suicide and agriculture becomes an increasingly undesirable profession, it not only puts the nation’s food security at stake but also creates a new human resource crisis given that over 50 percent of our nation’s total workforce still depends on agriculture.

The latest display of synthetic valor by Rahul in the Parliament and public domain has two objectives.

First, to redeem himself from his severely bruised public image.

Second, to lie repeatedly and create a perception that Modi government is pro-rich while positioning himself as the champion of the poor. If he is serious about bringing respite to farmers, he must suggest some implementable policy suggestions instead of resorting to street-theatrics and photo-ops.

It is important for the BJP to call his bluff and expose his lies thoroughly because politics sadly is all about public-perception.