BJP team to counter Cong's anti-farmers barb

A day after accusing former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot's brother of siphoning off fertilizer subsidy during the UPA regime, the BJP will send a special team of agrarian workers for Gujarat poll campaign to counter the Congress' anti-farmer barb.

BJP Kisan Morcha national president Virendra Singh Mast told reporters that a team of 50 party workers would land in Gujarat to campaign that Nehru family has always ignored the interests of farmers.

Taking on the Congress for describing Prime Minister Narendra Modi as anti-farmer, BJP MP from Bhadohi said, while party leaders like him go back to their constituencies after discharging parliamentary duties to be among farmers, Rahul Gandhi goes abroad for a holiday.

"That's the difference between the BJP and Congress. This is not new. It runs in the Nehru family which has never looked after the farmers," Mast commented.

Apart from raking up land acquisition issues faced by farmers in some part of the state, the Congress vice president had also ticked off Modi by saying that demonetisaton had badly hit farmers as they don't transact through phone or debit cards but use cash to purchase seeds or pay to farm labourers.

The Kisan Morcha chief said the team will also campaign in the rural areas to highlight initiatives of the Modi government, including crop insurance scheme and for doubling the income of farmers.

The Morch is also planning to celebrate birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh on December 23 to engage farmers of Uttar Pradesh.