Country now knows BJP's anti-farmer hateful mindset: Kharge on Kangana's remark

New Delhi, Sep 25 (PTI) Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday slammed the BJP over its MP Kangana Ranaut's remarks calling for bringing back the three farm laws that were repealed in 2021, and said poll-bound states including Haryana would give a befitting reply to the ruling party.

Ranaut on Wednesday withdrew her remarks and expressed regret. She also said those were her personal opinion and did not represent the party's stand.

The Congress on Tuesday shared on X a video in which she said in Hindi, "Farm laws that have been repealed should be brought back. I think this may get controversial. The laws in farmers' interest be brought back. Farmers should themselves demand this (to bring farm laws back) so that there is no hindrance to their prosperity.

"Farmers are a pillar of strength in India's progress. Only in some states, they had objected to farm laws. I appeal with folded hands that farm laws should be brought back in the interest of farmers," she said.

In an apparent response to Ranaut's remarks, Kharge said, "Even after the martyrdom of 750 farmers, the anti-farmer BJP and Modi government did not realize their grave crime! There is talk of re-implementation of the three black anti-farmer laws. The Congress Party strongly opposes this." The 62 crore farmers will not forget that the Modi government crushed farmers under a vehicle, used barbed wire, teargas from drones, nails and guns against them.

"This time, poll-bound states, including Haryana, will give a befitting reply to insulting remarks, calling farmers 'andolanjeevi' and 'parasites', hurled by the Prime Minister himself in Parliament," the Congress chief said in a post in Hindi.

"Due to Modi ji's statements, his ministers, MPs and propaganda machinery have become habituated to insulting farmers," he alleged.

"In 10 years, the Modi government has broken three promises made to the country's food producers '- doubling the income of farmers by 2022, implementing input cost + 50% MSP as per Swaminathan Report and legal guarantee for MSP," Kharge said.

"When the farmers' agitation was withdrawn, Modi ji had announced a government committee, which is still in cold storage. The Modi government is against the legal guarantee of MSP," he alleged.

No relief was given to the families of the farmers who died and the Modi government did not even consider it appropriate to observe two minutes of silence in their memory in Parliament, Kharge alleged.

On top of that, their character assassination is going on continuously, he added.

The whole country has come to know that "anti-farmer hateful mindset" is present in every part of the BJP, he said.

The Congress on Tuesday had cited BJP MP Ranaut's remarks on farm laws to allege that the ruling party was making efforts to bring back the three laws that were repealed in 2021, and asserted that Haryana will give a befitting reply to it.

In a post in Hindi along with the video, the Congress had said, "The three black laws imposed on farmers should be brought back: BJP MP Kangana Ranaut has said this. More than 750 farmers of the country were martyred, only then did the Modi government wake up and these black laws were withdrawn." Now BJP MPs are planning to bring back these laws, the Congress had alleged.

"The Congress is with the farmers. These black laws will never return, no matter how hard Narendra Modi and his MPs try," the opposition party had said on X.

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate had also shared the video of Ranaut on X and said, "'All three farm laws should be brought back': BJP MP Kangana Ranaut. More than 750 farmers were martyred while protesting against the three black farmer laws. Efforts are being made to bring them back." "We will never let that happen. Haryana will answer first," she had said in an apparent reference to the assembly polls in Haryana.

Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera also shared the video on X and said it was the BJP's "real thinking".

"How many times will you deceive the farmers, you two-faced people?" Khera had said in a post in Hindi on Tuesday.

The three laws -- Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act; The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act; and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act -- were repealed in November 2021.

The farmers' protest started at the fag-end of November 2020 and ended after Parliament repealed the three laws. The legislations came into force in June 2020 and were repealed in November 2021. PTI