Rahul Gandhi Flags Banarasi Artisans' Crisis in Lok Sabha, Alleges Government-Backed Monopolies
He cites artisans’ accounts of joblessness with idle looms, pledging to keep pressing their case.
Overview
- Speaking in the Lok Sabha on December 10, Gandhi raised concerns after meeting a Jan Sansad delegation of Banarasi weavers and embroidery workers.
- He alleged the government is promoting a few select capitalists and enabling monopolisation that threatens small producers.
- Artisans told him unemployment has surged, looms and machines lie unused, and many have turned to daily wage work or left Varanasi for jobs.
- They said they are excluded from government schemes despite being part of “Make in India,” noting even basic tools like needles are imported from China and Japan.
- Gandhi reiterated his call for a democratic model of production and vowed continued advocacy, with no official government response reported in the coverage.