Rahul promises to provide MSP legally if INDIA bloc voted to power

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday (March 2) said the party's manifesto includes the promise to provide Minimum Support Price (MSP) to farmers legally if it came to power, and accused the BJP-led Union government of ignoring farmers’ interests while working for big industrialists.

Speaking in Morena after his 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' entered Madhya Pradesh from Rajasthan, he also reiterated the demand for caste census and claimed that 73 per cent of the country's population has no presence in most sectors of the economy as well as in the top levels of bureaucracy.

Caste census top priority

Addressing a gathering in Gwalior, Rahul said conducting a caste-based census will be the first task the INDIA bloc government will undertake after coming to power at the Centre. He also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the caste issue.

The caste census is a revolutionary step and will ensure justice and equal participation for these communities in various sectors, the Congress leader said. It will provide answers to two questions, namely, what is the population of the OBCs, Dalits, and tribals, and how wealth is distributed among them and what is their share in various institutions, he said.

None of the people from these communities are found among the owners of big companies, their senior managements, media firms, influential journalists and social media influencers, he added. Of the 90 top IAS officers "who run the government", only three each are from OBC and Dalit communities, and "they are made to sit in the corner when the budget is decided," he claimed.

‘BJP working for industrialists’

The BJP government at the Centre has waived loans of Rs 16 lakh crore of 10 to 15 industrialists but it is denying (legally guaranteed) MSP to farmers, Rahul alleged in Morena. Naming the Adani group, he alleged that in every sector, five to six big companies enjoy a monopoly.

"We have written in the manifesto, as soon as a Congress government comes to power in Delhi, we will give legal MSP to the farmers of the country," Rahul said.

Accusing BJP and RSS of spreading hatred, Rahul said his party was trying to bring people together with love through this Yatra.

As few as 22 rich people in the country own wealth equal to that owned by half the population, and 5% of the rich population has 60% of the money, he said.

The level of unemployment is at the highest level in 40 years, Gandhi claimed, adding that unemployment in the country is double that of Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Slams govt over Agniveer scheme

Before the Modi government rolled out the Agniveer system of recruitment for the defence forces, there was only "one type of martyrs" and ex-servicemen got pensions, canteen facilities and respect in society, Rahul said.

"Now, there are two types of martyrs....If one is recruited under the Agniveer scheme, the jawan will not get the status of martyr and not get the pension. Three out of four ex-servicemen will not get pension, canteen facilities and respect in their villages," he said.

He said the Agniveer scheme is implemented to provide money to big industrialists, and the government wanted the defence budget to not go towards the pension and training of the jawans but to the bank accounts of industrialists.

(With agency inputs)