A combative Rahul Gandhi on Monday tried to make up for lost time as he led the Opposition charge against the Narendra Modi government over the prevailing agrarian distress in the country, as the Budget session of Parliament resumed after a month-long recess.

Dubbing the NDA government a “suit-boot ki sarkar”, he said Mr. Modi was “alienating 60 per cent of the country’s population” to please a few industrialist friends.

Though the Treasury Benches appeared defensive during Mr. Gandhi’s intervention, the government showed no signs of relenting and tabled the re-promulgated Land Ordinance amending the 2013 Land Acquisition Act amid protests from the Opposition earlier in the day.

Mr. Gandhi managed to rally the entire Opposition around him as he attacked the government, though Congress president Sonia Gandhi was not present during the discussion.

Speaking to the media earlier, Mr. Modi had sought the cooperation of the Opposition saying the first half of the Budget session was high on productivity “because of the cooperation of all parties.”

Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, however, was more combative, stressing on the government’s clear majority in the Lok Sabha. “No one should be adamant. They can be firm, I have no problem because if they want to take an ideological position it is a different matter,” he said.

Taking off from where he left on Sunday at the farmers’ rally here, Mr. Gandhi repeatedly attacked the government calling it anti-farmer and pro-corporate in his 20-minute intervention in the House.

The House was holding a discussion under Rule 193 on “The agrarian situation in the country.”

“The government is weakening the farmer from all sides. When he becomes weak, you will strike at him with the axe of your ordinance,” Mr. Gandhi said.

Farmers will hit back: Rahul

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused the BJP government of failing to provide farmers the required minimum support price and addressing credit issues.

Addressing the Lok Sabha, Mr. Gandhi said that during the UPA regime, the agriculture growth rate was 4.1 per cent “while during the regime of the previous NDA government, the India Shining government, it was 2.6 per cent.”

Mr. Gandhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a pragmatic man as he had won an election but had faltered on the land ordinance. “You will earn political profit if you side with the farmers. You are making a huge mistake. In the future, the farmers will strike back at you when elections come,” he warned. Mr. Gandhi also drew attention to the heavy losses incurred by farmers due to the untimely rain recently.

Taking repeated jibes at Mr. Modi, who was not present in the House, Mr. Gandhi called the government ‘Achhe Din government’ and a government of industrialists.

The atmosphere in the House was charged despite low attendance with MPs from both the Opposition and the Treasury Benches frequently disrupting the discussion overlooking requests from Deputy Speaker M. Thambi Durai and Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu.

Mr. Naidu defended his government and hit back at the Congress vice-president. “We have not seen this kind of responsiveness in the over 40 years when Congress was in power,” he said.

Taking a dig at the enthusiasm among the Congress MPs, he said: “You cannot see beyond one person and one family. This is a government not for one but everyone.”