ROHTAK: When Congress leader Rahul Gandhi descended from his SUV at Sonipat's Madina village at 6.45am on Saturday, none of the farmers who were busy transplanting paddy in their fields could recognise him.

Spotting the presence of police and security personnel with the former MP, farmers initially thought something wrong had occurred and law enforcement agencies were there to investigate the case.Seeing a bearded Rahul getting closer and smiling from ear to ear, Jagdish Singh, a farmer who was among the first ones to meet him, said he could not believe his eyes when he saw the former Congress chief face-to-face.

"No one in the village knew about this.

We all were busy transplanting paddy like on regular days, but today turned special.

He stayed with us for one-and-a-half hours.

He planted paddy in a patch of land, drove a tractor like a professional farmer in about half an acre, ate food with peasants, and interacted on issues faced by farmers before leaving from here," said 55-year-old Jagdish.

The farmers told Rahul how private companies were fleecing farmers in the name of insurance cover of crops.Pradeep Kumar, another farmer, said he had come with tea for his brother when he saw a posse of police.

"I thought an untoward incident had occurred, but was surprised to see Rahul holding paddy seedlings and inserting them in a wet bed.".