Cong steps up campaign against BJP in MP

The Congress on Wednesday stepped up campaign against the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh, saying the farmers were demanding a fair price for their crops and the state government showered bullets on them.

“You (BJP) have forgotten agriculture in your craze for anti-Congress culture. Farmers demanded a fair price for their crops and BJP took their lives. The farmers have asked the government to waive their debt and the BJP showered them with bullets,” Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said at a press conference.

The state government has clamped a curfew in the trouble-hit areas in Madhya Pradesh after five farmers were killed in a firing during a protest in Mandsaur

Singhvi described the incident as “a cold blooded murder of the farmers” by the state government and questioned the prime minister’s silence over the issue.

“We want to ask why has the prime minister not said a word about the terrible tragedy in Mandsaur,” the Congress leader said.

Congress leaders were expecting party’s vice president Rahul Gandhi’s visit to the troubled spots in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday. “People who wanted to go and express solidarity with the bereaved farmers, including Rahul Gandhi, were denied permission. Instead, rumours and canards were spread that he wanted to go earlier and participate in the protest,” Singhvi said.

Meanwhile, former Union minister Kamal Nath demanded for a “proper investigation” into the incident. He also demanded that Chouhan step down as the chief minister.