Sops to farmers: How Rahul Gandhi, PM Modi seek to outdo each other
Kumar Shakti Shekhar | TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Updated: Feb 7, 2019, 15:42 ISTHighlights
- Rahul Gandhi and PM Modi are competing with each other over sops to farmers
- The Congress president accused the BJP government of giving only Rs 17 to every farmer's family per annum
- The PM alleged that UPA government had given just Rs 52,000 crore to the farmers in 10 yearsagainst Rs 7.50 lakh crore by his government
NEW DELHI: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the principal opposition Congress party are trying to outperform each other over sops to farmers, the poor and the unemployed ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The competitive wooing of these sections of the population by the two major political parties started with Congress president Rahul Gandhi promising waiver of farmers’ loans ahead of the assembly elections in Punjab and Gujarat in 2017 and in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh (MP), Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh in 2018.
This gambit helped the Congress to improve its position in all these states. It came to power in Punjab and improved its tally in Gujarat. It also formed government in Karnataka, MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
Apparently rattled by this, particularly by the results in the three Hindi heartland states of MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the Modi government made a number of announcements for farmers in the interim budget presented by Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on February 1.
Goyal announced Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, under which it promised transfer of Rs 6,000 per year for each farmer in three instalments to be transferred directly to farmers' bank accounts. This scheme is for farmers with less than 2 hectares land holding.
The budget has allocated Rs 75,000 crore to fulfill this promise in the current financial year.
However, Rahui Gandhi broke down the Modi government’s Rs 6,000 per farmer’s family per annum to per family and even every individual per day.
In the Jan Akanksha Rally at Patna on February 3, the Congress president said Modi had announced a paltry sum of Rs 17 per farmer’s family per day. Assuming there are five members in a family, he further said every farmer would get a meagre Rs 3.50 per day.
Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Modi government had waived loans worth Rs 3.50 lakh crore of 15 businessmen while it was paying just Rs 3.50 per farmer per day.
Modi, on the other hand, termed the Congress’s offer of loan waiver to the farmers as mere poll gimmick.
Speaking in Jammu on February 3, the Prime Minister said the Congress-led UPA government promised waiver of farmers’ loan worth Rs 6 lakh crore before the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.
“However,” he said, “the Congress waived loan amounting to only Rs 52,000 crore.”
Modi compared the Congress’s promise to the farmers with that of his government.
He said the Congress is again promising farm loan waiver of about Rs 60,000 after 10 years.
On the other hand, Modi said, at the rate of Rs 75,000 per annum direct benefit transfer to the farmers, the BJP has promised Rs 7.50 lakh crore in the next 10 years.
Modi’s refrain is Rs 60,000 crore dole by the Congress versus Rs 7.50 lakh crore by the BJP to the farmers in 10 years.
As Modi and Rahul target each other by breaking down each other’s figures, it will be up to the farmers to decide who to believe and who not to.
The competitive wooing of these sections of the population by the two major political parties started with Congress president Rahul Gandhi promising waiver of farmers’ loans ahead of the assembly elections in Punjab and Gujarat in 2017 and in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh (MP), Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh in 2018.
This gambit helped the Congress to improve its position in all these states. It came to power in Punjab and improved its tally in Gujarat. It also formed government in Karnataka, MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
Apparently rattled by this, particularly by the results in the three Hindi heartland states of MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the Modi government made a number of announcements for farmers in the interim budget presented by Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on February 1.
Goyal announced Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, under which it promised transfer of Rs 6,000 per year for each farmer in three instalments to be transferred directly to farmers' bank accounts. This scheme is for farmers with less than 2 hectares land holding.
The budget has allocated Rs 75,000 crore to fulfill this promise in the current financial year.
However, Rahui Gandhi broke down the Modi government’s Rs 6,000 per farmer’s family per annum to per family and even every individual per day.
In the Jan Akanksha Rally at Patna on February 3, the Congress president said Modi had announced a paltry sum of Rs 17 per farmer’s family per day. Assuming there are five members in a family, he further said every farmer would get a meagre Rs 3.50 per day.
Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Modi government had waived loans worth Rs 3.50 lakh crore of 15 businessmen while it was paying just Rs 3.50 per farmer per day.
Modi, on the other hand, termed the Congress’s offer of loan waiver to the farmers as mere poll gimmick.
Speaking in Jammu on February 3, the Prime Minister said the Congress-led UPA government promised waiver of farmers’ loan worth Rs 6 lakh crore before the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.
“However,” he said, “the Congress waived loan amounting to only Rs 52,000 crore.”
Modi compared the Congress’s promise to the farmers with that of his government.
He said the Congress is again promising farm loan waiver of about Rs 60,000 after 10 years.
On the other hand, Modi said, at the rate of Rs 75,000 per annum direct benefit transfer to the farmers, the BJP has promised Rs 7.50 lakh crore in the next 10 years.
Modi’s refrain is Rs 60,000 crore dole by the Congress versus Rs 7.50 lakh crore by the BJP to the farmers in 10 years.
As Modi and Rahul target each other by breaking down each other’s figures, it will be up to the farmers to decide who to believe and who not to.
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