Chandigarh, March 10: Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday attended the wedding ceremony of farmer Sanjay Malik’s daughter in Madina village, nearly three years after he had visited the same village and worked alongside farmers in their fields.
Gandhi, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, arrived at the village in the morning and was received by Deepender Singh Hooda and other leaders of the Indian National Congress.
Villagers welcomed him with traditional honours, tying a white ceremonial turban or ‘pagri’ before he joined the wedding ceremony of Tanu, the daughter of farmer Sanjay Malik.
Gandhi stayed at the venue for nearly an hour, during which he blessed the bride and presented gifts and ‘shagun’ to the newlyweds. He also interacted with the family members and villagers about local wedding customs and tasted traditional sweets, including milk ‘choorma’.
The farmer and the village sarpanch had personally travelled to Delhi on February 25 to invite Gandhi to the wedding.
Gandhi had earlier visited Madina village on July 8, 2023, when he interacted with farmers and agricultural labourers and participated in farm activities. During that visit, he rolled up his trousers and joined farmers in sowing paddy in waterlogged fields and also drove a tractor to plough the land.
Following the visit, Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had invited Sanjay and several farmers from the village for lunch at their residence in Delhi.
According to the Congress, Gandhi had then assured the farmer and his family that he would stand by them in both difficult and happy moments.
Speaking about the visit, Hooda said Gandhi’s presence at the wedding reflected his commitment to ordinary farmers.
“In an era where prominent leaders vie with one another to attend the weddings of wealthy industrialists, Rahul Gandhi today fulfilled his promise of ‘Kanyadaan’ by attending the wedding of the daughter of Sanjay, the farmer in whose field he had helped plant paddy two years ago,” Hooda said.
Villagers expressed excitement over the visit, saying it was rare for a national leader to attend the wedding of a farmer’s daughter in a small village.
