The Union government isn’t taking farmer suicides seriously and the prime minister doesn’t care if farmers don’t get fair prices for agricultural produce, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi asserted here on Friday.
The Congress leader said farmers’ main demand was waiver of loans and a robust solution to the agrarian crisis. “Not only in Karnataka, farmers and the working class are in a deep crisis in the entire country. The Central government isn’t responding to the proposals of the State government. It hasn’t taken farmer suicides seriously. The prime minister doesn’t care if farmers don’t get fair prices for their produce and suffer because of drought,” he told reporters at the Visvesvaraya Canal Farm near here on Friday, after visiting the houses of farmers who had committed suicide at Sanabadakoppalu and Panakanahalli villages recently.
Criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi said he should take time off from his busy schedule of foreign tours to think about farmers’ plight in Karnataka. He accused the Union government of “discriminating” between states in providing aid for helping farmers.
“States where the BJP isn’t in power are getting a raw deal. During the UPA rule, farmers of the entire country were treated equally. The UPA government waived loans to the tune of Rs 72,000 crore. But the NDA government isn’t taking steps in the interest of farmers,” he suggested.
The Amethi MP said the BJP wanted the people to fight on the Hindu-Muslim line. “The PM isn’t taking steps to check communal conflict. The NDA government is doling out benefits worth thousands of crores to industries, but neglecting farmers,” he added.
Gandhi said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah would announce measures for farmers’ welfare, at a public meeting at Ranebennur, Haveri district, on Saturday. He said he had discussed farmers’ issues with Siddaramaiah and Cabinet ministers.