Continuing his tradition of making gaffes, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday made an inexplicable demand during his speech in the Lok Sabha. The Gandhi scion said he wants the farmers be given jobs, along with granting them their rights and compensation.
“I want that the farmers be given their rights, they should be given compensation as well as jobs,” Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said in Lok Sabha.
Gandhi was speaking on the issue of the years-long farmers’ agitation following which the central government announced the withdrawal of the three farm laws after expressing disappointment at their failure to convince the farmers of their benefits.
If his above statement were to be taken literally, it would mean he was appealing to PM Modi to offer ‘jobs’ to deceased protestors. However, what Rahul Gandhi likely meant was offering ‘jobs’ to the kin of the deceased protestors but he was clearly not very clear in communication. Further, it would be quite a bit of absurd suggestion to offer jobs to farmers because they are farmers by profession and offering them jobs would then make them other professionals, likely professional protestors like Rakesh Tikait.
Since November 2020, a section of farmers from Punjab, and some parts of Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, have been camping along the border of the national capital to demand the Centre to repeal the three farm laws. Then on November 19, PM Modi announced the three farm laws will be repealed.
PM Modi announces withdrawal of three farm laws
Addressing the nation, PM Modi thanked the millions of farmers who appreciated the farm laws, which were introduced after due deliberation and with honest intentions. PM Modi made a startling announcement saying that the government had decided to, however, repeal the 3 farm laws that were passed for the benefit of the farmers.
PM Modi, addressing the nation said that by the end of this month, the Modi government would complete the process of repealing the three farm laws. He then appealed to the protesting farmers and middlemen to return to their homes on this Gurupurab and stop their protest. He further said that the government will form a committee to formulate laws for the benefit of the farmers.
He further said that the government had introduced the laws after due deliberation but perhaps it was the shortcoming of the government that they could not convince all farmers that the laws were indeed in their benefit. Further, he said that the past governments had deliberated on these laws as well but it was the Modi government that had implemented them.
He said that all his decisions were in the interest of the nation and he will continue to work for the benefit of the nation.
Rahul Gandhi’s knack of committing faux pas in his political speeches
Then on November 29, on the first day of the Winter Parliament session, the government invalidated the three farm laws. The farmers were evidently protesting against the three farm laws that they perceived of being working against their interest. But for Rahul Gandhi, the overriding concern for farmers who camped on streets for over 12 months was not the three farm laws and their demands on MSP, but securing ‘jobs’ from the Centre.
Nevertheless, such gaffes by Rahul have increasingly become par for the course in India’s political discourse. From winking in the parliament to his hilarious comment “I wake up in the night”, to his infamous “aalo daalo sona niklega”, Rahul Gandhi is a gift that keeps giving. Every once in a while, he makes absurd comment, which ends up providing ‘jobs’ to his supporters and sympathisers, who marshal their energies in defending their supreme leader.
