Gandhi made the remarks in reply to newsmen's question on AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha's statement that the AIADMK's options were open as far as extending support to the congress was concerned.

She announced that her party would give compensation to families of farmers who had committed suicide in Haryana and other states because of indebtedness.

After visiting families of about 70 farmers who had committed suicide in Bailakhera, Karamgarh and Amargarh villages of Narwana, she told reporters that the Pradesh Congress Committees in states would be asked to go into the farmers' problems and submit reports so that the party could work out a detailed action plan.

Terming the suicide among farmers as a ``very serious'' problem, she said the compensation to be given at the party level would not be of thesame size as it could have given had it been in power.

The Congress, she said, would conduct a detailed study to ascertain the reasons for the suicide by farmers, mainly being attributed to financial indebtedness to banks and private financiers.

Suicide among farmers was not a problem confined to haryana. ``Economic problems are leading to suicide in other states also'', she said.

She met the members of the families of dead farmers individually in each of the three villages and enquired about the reasons for the suicide.

Interacting with families in Hindi, she also enquired about the outstanding loans, grant of help by the government, receipt of relief from any other agency, the education of the children and problems in general faced by the families.

Gandhi directed former minister Mani Shankar Iyer to note down the details about the families. A majority of the family members told her that their relatives had consumed insecticide or drowned themselves in a river.

She spent about four hoursvisiting the three villages during which she had to undertake a 50 km journey through narrow, bumpy roads in the Narwana assembly constituency.

Earlier on arrival she met delegations of Haryana Krishak Samaj, agriculture scientists, social scientists and academicians, women social activists, members of panchayats and the beopar mandal to get to know the problems.

Sonia brushed aside security to mingle with the families of the farmers. She stopped her car at a few places to get close to the villagers and interact with them.