RAE BARELI/AMETHI: Stepping in for Rahul Gandhi during his leave of absence, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said on Saturday that Amethi and Rae Bareli were the “collective responsibility” of the Gandhi family and that it mattered little whether she, Rahul or Priyanka Gandhi Vadra came asking after the constituencies’ people. On a day-long visit to the neighbouring parliamentary constituencies to assess the damage to crops due to unseasonal rains, and to condole the death of 15 people from Rae Bareli and Amethi in the Janata Express crash, Sonia said, “I am here on his behalf. Whether it is Rahul, or Priyanka or I, Rae Bareli and Amethi are both our constituencies; our collective responsibility.”Maintaining that Rahul would return from his leave of absence soon, and come back to the people of Amethi immediately after, Sonia also reinforced her own long and emotional connect with Amethi. “I have been visiting Amethi since the 1980s. I have also been the MP here,” she said, adding that it was only “appropriate” that she asked after the welfare of Amethi’s people, as well as Rae Bareli. Incidentally, Sonia has only made a limited number of visits to the Congress vice president ’s parliamentary constituency in the recent years. Her last prolonged visit to Amethi was during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections when she campaigned for her son.To assess the collateral damage to crops and livelihoods in Rae Bareli and Amethi, Sonia toured four villages each in both constituencies and promised to raise the issue of delayed and inadequate compensation to farmers with the NDA government. She said, “I don’t think the survey of damage is comprehensive. There have been considerable losses. Not enough has been done for the farmers.” Sonia also said the crop damage in Amethi was “extensive” and that she hopes the state and central governments will give the farmers their due soon.Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi after casting his vote at a polling booth in New Delhi. (TOI Photo)While her visits to Rae Bareli are not out of the ordinary, Sonia’s Amethi visit comes days after “Missing MP” posters of Rahul Gandhi were pasted in parts of Amethi, accusing the MP of not doing enough for the development of his constituency. Congress, though, was quick to explain it as the handiwork of mischief mongers who wanted to indulge in petty politics.On Saturday, while Sonia refrained from clarifying just when her MP son will return, the day-long meeting with local constituents in Amethi appears to have been an appeasement initiative as much as it was to reinforce Congress’ pro-farmer, pro-poor stance. And though people were only too happy to meet the mother, the clamour for the son was also apparent. In Poore Kumaran, a village in Amethi’s Bahadurpur block, Ram Khilawan said, “We wanted Rahul Gandhi to come here. Sonia ji has come and we are happy. But we hope he comes too.” In Tiloi assembly constituency of Amethi, a group of residents of the Tendua village also staged a protest in front of Sonia’s cavalcade. Speaking to TOI, one protestor, Abul Kaiz, said, “We have been demanding a train halt at Tendua on the Lucknow-Pratapgarh rail line for 20 years now. The paperwork is complete but implementation is awaited. We have raised the issue with Rahul ji in the past and now also with Sonia ji. We hope our demand is met.”