Kisan yatra: Modi govt neglecting farmers, says Rahul Gandhi

Sharpening his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of farmers’ plight, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the erstwhile UPA government had “waived their Rs 70,000 crore loans” even when the shape of the country’s economy was not “all that bright”.

“Crude petroleum was being sold at USD 140 a barrel.  The Government had no money. Still we decided to waive their (farmers) loans,” he said.

The Congress Vice President was speaking during a meeting here in the course of his roadshow on the fourth day of ‘kisan yatra’ from Deoria to Delhi.

He said when the then prime minister Manmohan Singh announced the waiver, BJP members asked in Parliament as to how the government would manage the money.

“How can it be possible? From where Congress will get the funds,” Rahul said they posed questions like this.

“We are determined to work for the sake of farmers unlike the Modi government which neglects them,” he claimed.

Rahul said when a farmers’ delegation had met Singh and shared their plight requesting the loan waiver, the UPA government took the decision within 10 days and wrote off the loans.

The Congress leader is out on a ‘mahayatra’ during which he will cover 39 districts spread over 55 of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh where Assembly elections are due early next year.