Farmers Movement Archive

'Farmers of the sea': Rahul Gandhi interacts with fishing community in Puducherry

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday interacted with the fishing community in Solai Nagar area of Puducherry as he kicked off his party's election campaign in the union territory. Gandhi was accompanied by Puducherry CM V Narayanasamy and All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge for Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Goa Dinesh Gundu Rao.Shri @RahulGandhi during a lively & meaningful interaction with the fishermen community of Pappammal Kovil, Puducherry.Dialogues & discourse are the base of our democracy. pic.twitter.com/OXoVqj2fMTAddressing the crowd about the ongoing farmers' protests in Delhi, Gandhi said that he considers fishermen to be the farmers of the sea. “I consider you to be farmers of the sea. If farmers of the land can have their ministry in Delhi, then why is it that the farmers of the sea don’t have a ministry in Delhi?” Gandhi asked. His speech was translated by Narayanasamy.Also read | Rahul Gandhi reaches Puducherry as political crisis brewsGandhi then made a request to the fishermen, “Next time I come here I want to go with you in the fishing boat to see what you experience so that when I go back to Delhi, I can truly understand what farmers of Puducherry feel.”Answering a range of questions about the functioning of the media in the country to the role of electronic voting machines (EVM), Gandhi said that the EVM is a big issue and the media is not owned by poor people and is not interested in their issues.“The current government in Delhi has given ₹10 lakh crores of loan to the richest people in this country. During Covid ₹1.5 lakh crore was given to the richest people in this country as a gift. But when the labourers who are going back home, asked for a bus ticket or railway ticket they were not given,” Gandhi added, as he urged that poor people need to be more organised by themselves.“I will come next time for lunch,” the Congress leader said while parting, after many in the crowd asked him to join for lunch.

Hindustan Times

17-02-2021

India