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New Delhi: It was Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's day in parliament. As the opposition targeted him for his "night out" in Maoist-infested Orissa, he made a forceful appeal for small farmers as well as "the disempowered".
Taking up the plight of farmers in poorly irrigated regions like Vidarbha, Gandhi suggested that a landholding ceiling was not the right yardstick to waive farmers' loans. He also spoke against having a single cut-off date for the loan waiver scheme.
Taking part in the discussion on the general budget, the Amethi MP, widely seen as a future prime ministerial candidate, spoke about the need for bridging the chasm between the empowered and the disempowered in the country.
"Speed and continuity of our economic growth depends on inclusion. A small section of India cannot grow indefinitely while the rest, disempowered, look on. If opportunities are limited to a few, our growth will just be a fraction of our ability to grow," he said.
Gandhi, who was mostly reading out from a written speech, was keenly heard by his mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Two suggestions
"I have two suggestions for the finance minister. Land ceiling for eligible farmers does not account for land productivity, excluding deserving farmers in the poorly irrigated areas such as Vidarbha. Land ceiling should be variable based upon the land productivity," Gandhi said as MPs, especially those from Maharashtra, applauded.
The single cut-off date of March 31, 2007 for the farm loans would "unfairly penalise" farmers, with various regions having different crops, he said. "Localised cut-off dates should be considered."
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