After Hema, Munger MP hits social media with sickle, crop

PATNA: After the images of Hema Malini harvesting wheat crop with a sickle went viral last week, Munger MP Veena Devi has hit the social media with similar frames on Monday.
Though the LJP did not field her this time, the wife of don-turned-politician Surajbhan Singh is campaigning for her brother-in-law (devar) Chandan Kumar, who is the party nominee from Nawada Lok Sabha seat.
Escorted by supporters and armed with a sickle, Veena is seen harvesting wheat crop in a field. In another image, Veena is clad in a green sari and trying to lift a haystack with smile on her face.
Talking to this newspaper over phone from Nawada, Veena said, “I’m the daughter of a kisan (farmer). I don’t believe in making false promises, but work at the grassroots level.”
On his photographs uploaded to social media sites, Veena said, “I saw around 30 workers harvesting the wheat crop in scorching heat on Sunday (April 7). I was passing by and stopped for a brief conversation with them. They support LJP and PM Narendra Modi. I told them I wanted to work in the field. And, within one hour, I harvested the crop and make bundles of it. Seeing me in the field, the landlord and other farmers also joined.”
Veena, who has been campaigning in Nawada since March 25, said, “I have covered almost all the blocks. The major challenge people face here is the lack of roads. In most places, I had to walk miles to reach out to people because there were no proper roads for vehicular movement,” she complained. Incidentally, LJP ally BJP’s Giriraj Singh had won the Nawada seat in 2014. This time he is contesting from Begusarai.
The other challenges that she experienced in villages were poor farming techniques and lack of small industries. “I promised the villagers that if we are voted to power again, we will set up industries in villages to generate employment for people,” she said.
When this correspondent asked why she was not contesting the parliamentary election, Veena said she had not been feeling well since her son died in a car accident in Noida last year.
Jignesh invites Hema to Begusarai: A video of Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mewani went viral on social media on Monday. It shows Jignesh standing outside a wheat field and saying that he is planning to invite Mathura MP Hema Malini to come over to Begusarai and show her skill of cutting wheat crop. Jignesh is campaigning for former JNUSU president and CPI candidate Kanhaiya Kumar in Begusarai. “By cutting the crop with a sickle, she will also promote the CPI symbol,” he says.