From inflation to Rahul’s marriage: Gandhis listen to ‘mann ki baat’ of women labourers from Haryana

“Prices of tomatoes, onions are so high that we cannot eat these at home,” said one of the 30-old women labourers hosted by Rahul, Sonia and Priyanka Gandhi for a lunch recently at their Delhi residence.

Riding pillion on a delivery man’s bike during the Karnataka polls, hitching a ride with truck drivers to Ambala in May, a visit to a bike repair shop in Delhi last month, interaction with farmers in Haryana’s Sonipat, and now a lunch with women labourers of the area at Sonia Gandhi’s residence in New Delhi — Rahul Gandhi has been on a social outreach programme since his Bharat Jodo Yatra and has been posting videos of the interactions on YouTube.

30-odd women labourers from Madina village visited  Sonia Gandhi’’s home in Delhi on July 14 following a remark made by  Rahul Gandhi when he visited their village.  On July 8, the Congress leader had paid a visit to Madina village and met farmers and labourers. During his visit, when asked, “Dilli dekhi hai, dikha doon? (Have you seen Delhi? Should I show you?)”, the women were elated and then invited to the national capital.

During the conversation over lunch, the women spoke about their ordeal owing to skyrocketing prices of daily necessities like fertilisers, gas cylinders, electricity and diesel, onions and tomatoes among other things. “Things have become so expensive now. A common person with responsibilities can’t buy tomatoes at Rs 200 per kilo,” one of the women said.