Nitin Gadkari says will work hard to stop farmer suicides as his campaign ends

Addressing his last rally before the end of campaigning for the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls, Union minister and BJP candidate from Nagpur Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said he will work hard to stop farmer suicides and create more jobs for the youth. Polling for the Nagpur seat, along with six other seats in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, will be held on April 11. BJP chief Amit Shah also spoke at the rally. "I want to promise you two things, firstly I will be specially focusing on stopping farmer suicides in Vidarbha. I have made it my mission in life to work so much more in villages that in coming days no farmer commits suicide," Gadkari said.

The Union water resources minister said his ministry had given Rs 40,000 crore for two irrigation projects in Maharashtra. "I, along with Chief Minister (Devendra) Fadnavis, will increase the irrigation potential of Maharashtra from 18 to 50 per cent. With water in fields, no farmer will commit suicide and agricultural produce will increase three-fold," he said.

Gadkari said his second priority will be creation of more jobs for the youth. "This time I have initiated works worth Rs 17 lakh crore and next time I will try to double this figure. This I want to do not only for the development of the nation, but these works give impetus to job opportunities," he said.

"A work of Rs 10,000 crore gives direct and indirect employment to one lakh people. So you can figure out how many youths will get employment with Rs 17 lakh crore-worth projects," he said. Gadakri said he had promised 50,000 jobs to the youth of Nagpur and Vidarbha and succeeded in creating 25,000 jobs.

Another 25,000 jobs will be provided within one year, he added. "In the next four years I will work on creating 50,000 more jobs for the youth of Nagpur and Vidarbha," he said.

I want to use my "entire strength" to provide jobs to "lakhs of youths", Gadkari said. Stating that there is a lot of "politics of casteism and communalism", he said we have to get rid of untouchability, casteism and communalism, and create a nation based on humanity, which is what the new generation wanted.