Sonia lunches with poor farmer

It was virtually a dream come true for a 56-year-old poor farmer from Koppal district in north Karnataka when he was invited by Congress President Sonia Gandhi to have lunch with her at the Kumarakrupa Guest House in Bangalore on Sunday.

Erappa had lost his only son Suresh, 24, a Congress party loyalist, who suffered a cardiac arrest when Sonia Gandhi rejected the mantle of Prime Minister after the 2004 elections to the Lok Sabha.

After Sonia Gandhi had expressed her desire to meet Suresh’s family during her visit to Bangalore, the Congress party leaders had brought Erappa for the public rally in Bangalore on Sunday. When Erappa was taken to the Kumarakrupa Guest House in Bangalore after the rally, Sonia Gandhi was having her lunch.

When she was informed about Erappa’s presence, Sonia Gandhi rushed out, startling the Special Protection Group (SPG) guarding her, and invited the poor farmer to lunch with her.

After lunch, Sonia Gandhi comforted Erappa. “It is sad that you lost your son. But, we are with you”, the Congress President told the poor farmer. Sonia Gandhi also presented a cheque worth Rs 100,000 to Erappa.

She asked Erappa the keep the cheque carefully and instructed the local Congress leaders of Koppal to arrange for his last daughter’s wedding. Erappa’s only son Suresh was the sole bread-winner of the family. His two elder daughters are already married.

Congress leaders from Koppal said Suresh, who had campaigned for the Congress party during the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, suffered a heart attack when he was watching the television beaming pictures about Sonia Gandhi’s rejection of the top post and anointment of Manmohan Singh as the premier.

He was immediately rushed to the hospital, where he died later. When Sonia Gandhi was told about the tragedy, she had sent a cheque for Rs 100,000 to Suresh’s family. About Rs 45,000 from the compensation amount went for his hospital bills.

Though Sonia Gandhi wished to meet Suresh’s father and mother, his mother Shavantramma Moolimani could not make it to Bangalore as she was suffering from an injury in her leg.

But, Sonia Gandhi made Erappa’s day by lunching with him and topping it with a cheque for Rs 100,000.