Panchayats crucial to success of farm: Rahul

The elected panchayat members should take the centrestage in the implementation of farmers’ policy.

The elected panchayat members should take the centrestage in the implementation of farmers’ policy.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said this at a seminar on “panchayati raj and the national farmers’ policy” here on Monday. “There is a difference between knowledge and qualification. Qualification is often mistaken for knowledge when, in fact, farmers with limited educational or technical qualification often had more knowledge than experts about ground realities of agriculture,” he added.

With the Congress planning to make the pro-farmer Budget its poll plank, Rahul emphasised that the success of the farmers’ policy would depend on the role assigned to panchayats.

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“I think this (Rahul’s participation) is a crucial step towards revitalising the single most important platform of the Rajiv Gandhi legacy (panchayati raj) and an expression of the political will at the highest echelons of the Congress to ensure centrality of panchayats in meeting the challenges of the agrarian crisis in the overall context of inclusive growth through inclusive governance,” said Panchayati Raj Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar, who organised the seminar along with noted agriculturist and Rajya Sabha MP MS Swaminathan.

Later, Rahul interacted with the participants. About 200 elected panchayati raj representatives and farmers from 11 states attended the seminar.

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