Congress betrayed farmers, says Modi at Malout rally
Rally in Malwa town sees supporters from across Punjab, neighbouring states
MALOUT : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday accused the Congress of betraying farmers and using them only as a vote bank to further the interests of “one particular family”.
During his 45-minute address at the Kisan Kalyan Rally in Punjab’s Malwa belt, Modi said despite toiling hard, farmers had lived a life of despair for decades because of the policies of Congress-led governments. In a veiled attack on the Gandhis, he said the only concern they had was “for one particular family”.
He said the NDA government is trying to restore respect to farmers and soldiers, and is committed to doubling farmers’ income by 2022. The rally showcased the recent cabinet decision to hike the minimum support price (MSP) of kharif crops, fulfilling the poll promise of ensuring that farmers make 50% above their input costs.
“That is our ‘ran niti’ (strategy) and now the Congress is upset with the NDA government’s decision (on MSP hike),” Modi said. Hitting out at the Amarinder Singh government after the World Bank report showed the state’s ranking slip to 20 on ease of doing business, he said, “Farmers should ask their Congress government in Punjab why the state is on a decline after Badal Sahib left.” He congratulated Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who was present, and people of the BJ-Pruled state as it was ranked third in the list.
Former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal added, “The Congress rule has demoralised farmers and driven them to suicide.”
He requested Modi to take steps to celebrate the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak and ensure justice for victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal, Union food processing minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Rajya Sabha members Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and Balwinder Singh Bhunder, and Punjab and Haryana BJP chiefs Shwait Malik and Subhash Barala were also present.
While Badal Senior described Modi as “a respectable leader across the world”, Sukhbir counted achievements of the NDA government in the farm and food processing sectors.
On the rally venue, Modi said Malout connected Punjab with Rajasthan and Haryana. “I’m happy farmers from Rajasthan and Haryana have reached here in large numbers. In a way, Malout is witnessing a ‘kumbh’ of farmers today,” he said. Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh dismissed the rally as “just fluff”.
COUNTS ON MSP TO SEEK 2019 MANDATE AT KISAN KALYAN RALLY IN MUKTSAR DIST
MALOUT (MUKTSAR): “Modi-ji gave me a 30-second handshake!” beamed the BJP’s Muktsar district unit chief, Rajesh Phatela, talking about his first handshake with Prime Minister Narendra Modi behind the stage at the ‘Kisan Kalyan’ (farmer welfare) rally in this small urban centre of the district in Punjab’s Malwa region on Wednesday.
Phatela’s reaction was a reflection of the mood among BJP cadres in Malwa — it forms the largest chunk among the three regions of Punjab — and thus the rest of the state.
Co-organised by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), BJP’s senior ally in the state, the rally had party supporters pouring in “from Amritsar, Pathankot, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Ferozepur and Bathinda districts”, Phatela said. Attendees came from neighbouring Haryana and Rajasthan, too, as Malout’s geographical location at the cusp with these states was a reason why it was chosen as the venue.
The rally is part of Modi’s “thanksgiving” spree after the Union government hiked minimum support price (MSP) for crops.
Former state BJP chief Kamal Sharma, who is from Ferozepur, brought crowds in 50 buses. “Since Ferozepur is a paddy-dominated region, the rural population is in jubilation,” he claimed, “This MSP hike will definitely give a boost to the SAD-BJP alliance (in the coming Lok Sabha polls).”
Sharma camped in villages of Ferozepur for three days, holding meetings with the farmers to garner crowds for the rally. He further claimed, “It is for the first time that the Centre has shown a big heart towards the farmers who have got due returns for their hard labour in the form of Rs 200 MSP hike (for paddy).”
HARSIMRAT FROM FEROZEPUR NOW?
Dissident SAD MP Sher Singh Ghubaya from Ferozepur remained absent amid a buzz among the crowds that the SAD might get the Bathinda MP, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, wife of SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, to contest from Ferozepur in 2019.
“She might get the ticket from Ferozepur this time,” said an elderly man from a village there. His accompanying Akali supporters nodded in agreement with his political observation as he added, “That way, the SAD might retain the Ferozepur seat.”
Ghubaya’s son Davinder Ghubaya is a Congress MLA from Fazilka assembly segment in Ferozepur district while Sukhbir’s constituency Jalalabad, too, is in the same area that Ghubaya considers his stronghold.
› Modiji gave me a handshake for at least 30 seconds! He even asked me how the party cadres are in Muktsar. RAJESH PHATELA, BJP’s Muktsar district unit president