IN UP, PM PRAISES MSY,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and called him “a respected leader committed to democracy” even as he slammed the Congress for “not letting Parliament function”.
Addressing a rally i n Saharanpur, Modi accused Cong ress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul of being arrogant even after their crushing defeat in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. He reminded the public how the Congress had refused to let Parliament function during the monsoon session.
Modi said he was grateful that Yadav had raised his voice against the Congress’ unruly behaviour and broke ranks with the Congress in favour of democratic norms. Calling Yadav “aadarniya”, the PM said politically they were opponents and that the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister was his bitter critic, but for the sake of democracy, “Mulayam Singhji aired his fair opinion, displaying the real power and strength of democracy”.
Referring to the Emergency of 1975, he said autocracy ran in the Congress’ blood and they should introspect on their defeat that had reduced them from 400 to just 40 members in the Lok Sabha.
Continuing his attack on the Congress, Modi said his government had decided to make amendments in the Land Acquisition Bill only after requests from various political parties and state governments, especially those governed by the Congress. “However, when we brought the amended bill in the Parliament, they (Congressruled state governments) backtracked,” he said.
The PM also sought to win over the farmers in Western UP belt by saying that his government was committed to the welfare and prosperity of the farmers and pointed to the release of ` 6,000 crore towards payment of arrears to sugarcane growers.
He said his government had also permitted the export of sugar and also accepted a policy of mixing 10% ethanol in petrol to abolish the monopoly of petrol mafia in rural areas.