Chandigarh, Sep 30 (IANS): The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Wednesday asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to tell farmers why he had supported the abolition of the APMC Act and why he had not protested against the three 'anti-farmer' agricultural bills when they were tabled in the Parliament for ratification.

In a statement issued here, party spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema said that after failing on all fronts and betraying the farmers by amending the state APMC Act in 2017, Punjab Congress is now trying to win the sympathy of the farmers by indulging in cheap publicity stunts.

"Getting Rahul Gandhi astride on a tractor in Punjab is nothing but a photo op designed to befool the farmers. The Congress has always adopted an anti-farmer stance, be it the party's 2019 election manifesto calling for abolition of the APMC Act or the amendment of the state APMC Act in Punjab in 2017, which included all the provisions contained in the farm Bills passed recently," Cheema said.

The SAD leader said that before coming to Punjab, Rahul Gandhi should come clean and tell the farmers of the state where he was when the farm Bills were tabled in the Parliament.

He said Rahul Gandhi should also explain why no top leader from the Congress spoke against the Bills in the Parliament and why the party did not even issue a whip to ensure all its MPs voted against the Bills.

Stating that both Rahul Gandhi and the Congress should not play a double game and try to deceive the farming community, Cheema said the former Congress President should tell the farmers why the party had not withdrawn support to the Udhav Thakeray-led Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra after the latter voted in favour of the farm Bills in the Parliament.