Rahul Gandhi's Punjab visit a 'photo opportunity': SAD

Chandigarh, Nov 6: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Friday termed Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's Punjab visit as nothing more than a "photo opportunity" to bolster his sagging image.

The party also targeted Rahul for "not having guts" to visit the widow colony in Delhi's Tilak Vihar or the Akal Takth in Punjab, saying that this was a "favourite" tactic for a member of the Gandhi family.

In a joint statement here, senior party leaders, including MPs Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Balwinder Singh Bhundur and Prem Singh Chandumajra, condemned the manner in which Rahul was offering "fake sympathy" to farmers for suffering loss.

"What has been your or your government's track record on farming? Are you not party to the systematic destruction of the farming community?" the leaders questioned in the statement.

The leaders also claimed that the successive Congress governments at the Centre and state were responsible for discontinuing subsidies on diesel and fertiliser.

They said the Parkash Singh Badal led SAD-BJP government was giving free power to farmers for agricultural operations and had recently released a record Rs 643 crore compensation for cotton farmers, who had suffered recent crop loss.

The SAD MPs said Rahul's refusal to even acknowledge the suffering of the Sikh community at the hands of his family was also indicative of the fact that he wanted to continue to follow the divisive politics of the Congress rather than apologise to find closure for himself and his family.

PTI