Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.Raking up the Emergency imposed by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Ratanlal Kataria on Wednesday criticised Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s recent comment on the freedom of media, judicial system and institutions, and called his visit to Haryana a flop show.
In a statement released via Panchkula district authorities, the minister questioned Rahul saying “has he forgotten that during the Emergency period imposed by Indira Gandhi, the Press was muted while she had also tried to destroy the judicial system and ruined all the higher institutions?”
Describing Rahul’s visit to Haryana as a flop show and directionless, Kataria said that today the Congress functions in the absence of a leader and sans any party policy.
He questioned the negligence of Congress on the Swaminathan Commission report which had been published during the UPA regime, saying, “Gandhi is not interested in anything other than opposing Modi and his governance. With what face does the Congress talk about the interests of farmers, youth and small businessmen today? Does the Congress not remember that the Swaminathan Commission report had come during the UPA rule itself? The Congress government had conveniently thrown it away then and now when the Modi government has come up with agricultural legislation with a view to doubling the income of farmers and making them self-reliant, the Congress and their intimate allies have come together to oppose it.”
Calling Captain Amarinder’s step of invoking a special session of the Punjab Legislative Assembly on agricultural laws a “disgusting attempt to tear apart the Constitution”, Kataria stated that any attempts by the Punjab government at thwarting these laws passed by Parliament will have the same effect as their efforts had in 2004 when all his water distribution agreements were cancelled.
“Has Captain Amarinder Singh forgotten that in 2004 all water distribution agreements drawn by his government were cancelled which were denied to him even by the Supreme Court and the President of India?” he asked.
Kataria said the farmers of the country will get a huge relief from agricultural laws passed in Parliament as they will get freedom from the clutches of the middlemen, as well as the freedom to sell their goods at their own fixed price as per their wish. He said the MSP is here to stay and the government will keep working towards increasing the MSP of farmers each time. “We have arranged a budget of Rs 16.16 lakh crore to be taken as loan by the farmers. In UP, the agriculture budget was increased to 28.8% instead of earlier 8.5%. Strengthening the farmers of the country is the priority of Modi government.”
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