Drama at Rahul Gandhi's sarpanch meet in Jammu

Gandhi assured the sarpanches, “We will implement the 73rd amendment.”

“You will get your right. I will fight this battle for you. I will keep coming and keep mounting pressure...You have to fight this battle. We are with you. We, all of us together, will put pressure on the state government. We are with you.  This thing will happen cent per cent,” he said.  

Reminding them that it had taken almost one-and-a-half years to ensure passage of the new Land Acquisition Bill, he said this will also eventually happen “not easily” but only after people fight for it.

Highlighting right-based schemes like MNREGA, RTI and food security brought by UPA, the Congress Vice President said these programmes cannot be implemented without Panchayati Raj and without sarpanches as “in order to implement these programmes, the leadership should be in villages.”