Jharkhand: Rahul promises farm loan waiver, return of tribal land

Simdega: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday promised loan waiver to farmers and return of tribal land given to industrialists while addressing an election rally here.

"Wherever there is a BJP government, they take away the land from tribal people and give it to industrialists without asking them. When our government was formed in Chhattisgarh, we took back the land from Tata and returned the land to the tribal people. If the tribal land is taken and the industry is not set up within five years, the land needs to be returned to the real owners," Rahul Gandhi said.

"Wherever there is a BJP government, businessmen are given land, but the farmers don't get what they want. Wherever the Congress has come to power, we promised loan waiver for farmers and even fulfilled it. I promise the same for the people of Jharkhand," added Gandhi.

Asserting that the way the land of the tribal was protected in Chhattisgarh and farm loan was waived off, he said: "After the formation of our government in Jharkhand, we will protect your land. We will also work on addressing the problem of unemployment."

In the first phase of the election, the voting was held in 13 constituencies and the voter turnout was recorded at approximately 64.12 pc on November 30.

The other four phases of the elections will be held on December 6, December 12, December 16 and December 20.