The age-old political party, Congress, often raises the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for farmers as an issue to challenge and disrupt the ruling BJP government. Since 2019, the BJP government has increased MSP and introduced three farm laws in 2020 to address agricultural concerns. However, Congress, aligning with landlords disguised as farmers, worked to suppress and repeal these laws. Whenever Congress wants to create tension, they activate their toolkits, staging protests posing as farmers, raising questions about whether these people are truly farmers.
The MSP and farmers’ issues had faded from the spotlight for some time. However, as 15 August, Independence Day, approaches, Congress has revived the topic. On 24 July 2024, a delegation of supposed farmer leaders from various states, including Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka, met with Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, to discuss their grievances.
आज नेता विपक्ष श्री @RahulGandhi ने किसान नेताओं से मुलाकात की।
मोदी सरकार ने अपने बजट में किसानों की मांग को नजरअंदाज कर दिया है।
लेकिन हम खामोश नहीं बैठने वाले, किसानों की आवाज को सड़क से संसद तक बुलंद करेंगे। अन्नदाताओं को न्याय दिलाकर रहेंगे। pic.twitter.com/TRvI4N6auX
— Congress (@INCIndia) July 24, 2024
In this backdrop, it is worth examining the true background and legitimacy of these so-called farmer delegations.
Timeline Of Congress-Linked “Toolkit” Farmers
Several months ago, a group of so-called professional farmer protesters began their demonstration. The Haryana government initially intervened to prevent them from reaching the border, but a recent high court ruling now mandates their access to Delhi.
On 16 November 2023, Deependra Hooda, a Congress leader with close ties to Rahul Gandhi, met with Ramandeep Singh Mann, the organizer of these professional farmer protests, to discuss future plans. By 24 November 2023, Mann announced a planned rally based on these discussions.
Subsequently, Deependra Hooda was in the USA at Sam Pitroda’s invitation on 30 November 2023, but by 10 December 2023, he was back in India, starting a series of rallies concerning farmers’ issues.
On 11 December 2023, Ramandeep Singh Mann met with other protest organizers in Chandigarh, where these so-called farmers were seen enjoying Starbucks coffee. Later that day, they announced a planned march to Delhi for late January or February 2024.
Another key figure in this plan is Guramneet Mangat, who is now involved as a professional farmer protester after serving as a Congress panellist. Photos reveal Mangat’s previous affiliations with Congress; many other protesters also have Congress ties.
On 24 December, 2023, Mann met with Congress leaders Digvijay Singh and Gurdeep Singh Sappal. The following day, they declared a march to Delhi for February 2024.
On 26 December, Mann met again with Deependra Hooda, and on 27 December, with Pawan Khera in Delhi. By 30 December, they had set a date for planning the march, which was officially scheduled for 13 February 2024, on 2 January 2024.
Mann also met former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda on 8 January 2024, and on 10 January, he, Guramneet, and other protesters convened in Chandigarh to begin preparations.
The coordination of this protest, dubbed “Farmer Protest-2” or the “Congress Protest,” appears to be managed by Guramneet Mangat.
On 11 February 2024, Rahul Gandhi reportedly instructed his cadres to support regime change through this protest. 
Tejveer Singh, another prominent protester, has explicitly stated that the aim of the protest is to effect political change on behalf of opposition parties, suggesting that the protest’s genuine concern for farmers may be a pretext. Singh’s connections with Congress leader Akhil Chaudhary further indicate the political motivations behind this movement.
Thus, the entire narrative surrounding the farmers’ protest appears to be driven by the politically motivated agendas of age-old congress party, rather than being a genuine grievance of farmers from various states.
(This article is based on an X thread by Vijay Patel)
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