INDIA will protect farmers if voted to power: Rahul Gandhi in Nashik

The INDIA alliance, if voted to power, would become the “voice of farmers” and frame policies to protect them, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said in Nashik on Thursday (March 14).

Rahul was addressing a farmers’ rally at Chandwad in Maharashtra’s Nashik district along with NCP (SP) head Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, as part of the Congress’s ongoing Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.

Promises to farmers

He promised to waive loans for farmers, restructure the crop insurance scheme, protect crop prices in the formulation of export import policies, and make efforts to exclude agriculture from GST and work on only one tax.

“The INDIA alliance government will be the voice of farmers and work to protect their interests,” Rahul said.

The Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad also reiterated the Congress’s promise of a legal guarantee to minimum support price (MSP) as per the Swaminathan commission report.

Unequal treatment

The former Congress president claimed that 20 to 25 people in the country have wealth equivalent to 70 crore of the country’s population. He further claimed that the Narendra Modi government has waived off Rs 16 lakh crore debt of industrialists.

“This amount is equivalent to 24 years of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) under which Rs 35,000 crore is spent every year to give employment to the poor people,” Gandhi said.

He said the previous Congress-led UPA government had waived off Rs 70,000 crore debt of farmers. “If the loans of rich people can be written off, farmers also should get the benefit,” he said.

On Agnipath scheme

Criticising the Agnipath scheme — under which soldiers are enrolled as Agniveers by the armed forces — Rahul said the Agniveers are excluded from pension and martyrdom status and are given training for only six months.

“Like soldiers who protect our country’s borders, farmers protect citizens within the country. If we don’t safeguard our jawans and kisans, the country cannot progress,” he said.

Sharad Pawar speaks

NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar accused the central government of being apathetic to the plight of farmers and the agriculture sector.

“Due to the lack of a proper price for their produce, farmers are debt-ridden and committing suicide. The UPA government had waived off Rs 70,000 crore loan of farmers,” he pointed out.

“It is our collective responsibility to defeat the anti-farmer, anti-youth government which invites inflation,” the former Union minister said.

With Rahul, says Raut

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is with Rahul Gandhi in the struggle to fight for people’s causes.

The MVA comprises the Congress, the Shiv Sena (UBT), and the NCP (Sharad Pawar). It is part of the national-level opposition INDIA bloc.

(With agency inputs)