Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday hit out at the Centre over the contentious new farm laws, alleging that the government was "conspiring to destroy" the protesters and assured that his party would stand with them.
Speaking to reporters, the Lok Sabha MP also accused the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre of trying to benefit "two or three of their friends" on the matter. "The government is not just neglecting them (farmers), the government is conspiring to destroy them. There is a difference. Neglecting is ignoring...they are not ignoring them," he said in response to a query.
"They are trying to destroy them because they want to benefit two or three of their friends. They want to give what belongs to the farmer to two or three of their friends," he alleged.
Farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, have been protesting against the new Central farm laws outside Delhi, demanding for their repeal. "They want to take the land of the farmer, produce of the farmer and they want to give it to their friends," Gandhi alleged.
"You are suppressing the farmers, helping a handful of businesses," he said. Extending his party's support to the farmers, Gandhi said the laws will indeed be repealed.
Charging Narendra Modi with "not supporting" the common man during the coronavirus pandemic, Gandhi asked, "whose Prime Minister are you?" "Are you the Prime Minister of the people of India or the Prime Minister of two-three selected businessmen?" he asked.
He also sought to know why Modi was "silent" on the months long Sino-India standoff, asking "why are the Chinese people sitting inside Indian territory?"
Published 14 January 2021, 10:17 IST