Sonia Gandhi interacting with farmers in Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi today visited the farmers in Madhya Pradesh, where unseasonal rain and hailstorms in March have damaged crops over nearly 4 lakh hectares of land.
The Congress chief visited almost a dozen villages Neemuch district, one of the worst-affected areas. But the tallest leaders of the party in the state, Digvijaya Singh, Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia did not accompany her.
"I have told them (the farmers) that I am not in power. I appeal to both the central and the state government to help them without any discrimination," Mrs Gandhi told the media.
Ganesh, one of the farmers who came to catch a glimpse of the Congress chief, said this was the third consecutive year that he lost his crop.
A survey of his farmland has been held, but he claimed in the previous two years, he did not get any compensation from the state government.
"God knows if I will get any compensation this year or not. But I am happy that a senior politician like Sonia Gandhi came to meet us. Till now, our local BJP legislator has not come to assure us of help," he told NDTV.
The state's BJP government - which says a Rs 400 crore relief package will be given to farmers within a week -- has called the Congress chief's visit a "publicity stunt".
"We welcome Sonia Gandhi. But where was she last year and the years before that, when unseasonal rains and hail damaged crops?" Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said. "Last year, crops on 35 lakh hectares were damaged compared to this year's 4 lakh hectares."