Cong loan waiver a lollipop: PM

Tribune News Service

Lucknow, December 29

Attacking the Congress for what he described as making “lubhavne waide” (seductive promises) to farmers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that now, farmers are facing lathis (batons) while queuing up for fertiliser, urea and seeds in the three states where they have elected Congress governments.

Addressing a public rally at the RTI maidan in Ghazipur, PM Modi termed the loan waiver promise of the Congress as a “lollipop” with which it has repeatedly befooled farmers.

He alleged that after forming a government in Karnataka “through the backdoor”, the Congress government wrote off loans of only 800 farmers instead of the lakhs that had been promised.

PM Modi said that similarly in 2009, after promising a loan waiver of Rs 6 lakh crore, barely Rs 7,000 crore of farm loans were written off.

He claimed that later, a CAG report pointed out that a large number of the beneficiaries did not deserve loan waiver.

According to the PM, loan waiver was no permanent solution to the problems of farmers.

He said that if the Congress had been sincere in easing the burden of farmers, they would have implemented the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission instead of putting it on the back burner for years.

He said that the ‘chowkidaar’ was working day and night with honesty which had given sleepless nights to many.

Earlier, he laid the foundation stone of a medical college and released a commemorative postal stamp on Maharaja Suheldev.

Later, PM Modi visited his constituency of Varanasi where he dedicated or laid the foundation stone of development projects to the tune of Rs 279 crore.

Allies stay away

Cracks appeared in the NDA in Uttar Pradesh as BJP’s two alliance partners in the state – Apna Dal and Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party — chose to stay away from the Prime Minister’s programmes in Ghazipur and Varanasi on Saturday.

With the Lok Sabha elections round the corner, the two parties claiming the support of two large OBC sections -– Patels and Rajbhars — have decided to maintain a distance from the ruling BJP.

Cabinet minister and president of SBSP OP Rajbhar has been sulking for quite some time demanding, among other things, quota within the OBC quota.

Union Minister of State for Health and Family Planning and Lok Sabha MP from Mirzapur, Anupriya Patel was conspicuous by her absence at the function in Ghazipur’s RTI maidan to lay the foundation stone for a medical college.

Speaking to a news channel, Ashish Patel, Apna Dal president and husband of Union Minister Anupriya Patel, charged the BJP state leadership of an “arrogant attitude” and insulting the weaker sections.

Equally glaring was the absence Om Prakash Rajbhar at a Ghazipur function today where a commemorative postal stamp in memory of Maharaja Suheldev was released by the Prime Minister as Rajbhar represents Zahoorabad Assembly segment of the district.

Rajbhar had earlier announced to boycott the PM’s function in Ghazipur for the BJP government’s non-fulfilment of his demand of quota within quota.