Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday lashed out against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for ignoring the interests of farmers and catering to the interests of industrialists instead.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday lashed out against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for ignoring the interests of farmers and catering to the interests of industrialists instead.
Mr Gandhi, who began his 7-km padyatra in Mahoba in Bundelkhand on Saturday, said, “Mr Modi must give some thought to the plight of farmers and labourers of the country. It is not just the industrialists who run this country. I will raise this issue in Parliament on how the Modi government is treating the farmers of the country.”
He said that he would press for loan waiver for farmers in Bundelkhand because they had lost two crops due to adverse weather conditions. He said that the government had ample money at hand and could easily waive off the farmers’ loans.
He asked the local people if they had ever bought pulses at the rate of '230 per kg. He said that prices of crude oil in the international market had fallen but the prices of petrol and diesel in India had not been sufficiently reduced.
Mr Gandhi heard their problems and informed them about the special package that the UPA government had sent for Bundelkhand which, apparently, never percolated down to the people.
The Congress vice-president held a meeting with a mahila self help group at Supa and met farmers in Laadpur village.
The Congress leader’s visit to Bundelkhand comes after his padyatra in Saharanpur in December in which he had interacted with sugar cane growers of western UP.
Congress Mahoba district president Trilok Mohan Tiwari told reporters, “As many as 45,000 farmers had benefited in Mahoba alone during the UPA regime. But now, there is no relief for farmers who are facing an acute drought situation here. Farmers, who were affected by hailstorm, are yet to receive any financial support. We want a loan waiver for farmers and this is the focus of Mr Rahul Gandhi’s padyatra.”
The Bundelkhand region, which is home to 18.3 million people as per the 2011 census, is blighted with drought and unseasonable rains that have destroyed standing winter crops. In the past few years, several farmers have committed suicide due to poor crop production in 13 districts that comprise the region.
The promised compensation by Uttar Pradesh government has not trickled down to those who need them the most.
UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav recently said that he would take care of Bundelkhand and his government would make necessary efforts to address the issues the area confronts.
