Will waive farmers’ loans if Cong wins in 2019: Rahul
Congress president visits Nanded to pay tribute to farmerscientist Khobragade
NA ND ED( CH AND RAP UR ): Interacting with farmers, youngsters and women in Nanded village of Chandrapur district on Wednesday, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said if his party comes to power in 2019, it would waive farmers’ loans and protect their interests.
“I am not making any false and vague promises, like Prime Minister Narendra Modiji, but we have given loan waivers in the past and will do so, if required, on the lines of Karnataka and Punjab. The Congress always stands with farmers and will remain with farmers to protect their interests,” he said.
“The Modi government is dishonest. It only cares for the country’s 15 rich and top industrialists and has provided them a ₹2.5 lakh crore corporate loan waiver. It will do nothing for poor farmers,” he said.
He was visiting Nanded to pay tribute to farmer and rice researcher Dadaji Ramaji Khobragade who died on June 3.
Khobragade was known for inventing the HMT rice variety.
A magazine had named him among seven of the most powerful entrepreneurs of India in 2010.
Attacking the Modi government further, Rahul said that the previous Congress-led UPA government had allocated ₹35,000 crore for the MGNREGA scheme for rural employment every year, while under this government, such a huge amount was given to a single person, Nirav Modi who fled the country after duping several banks.
He also said that the UPA government had waived over ₹70,000 crore farm loans across the country. The Congress president added that the Modi government had betrayed farmers and young- sters by failing to provide remunerative prices for their agriculture produce and failing to provide jobs in the past four years.
“The Congress, if voted to power in 2019, would provide higher remunerative prices for farm produce and jobs to the youths,’ he claimed.
Rahul asserted that his party would work on four fronts as priority basis — agriculture, health, education and industry — for making a better and prosperous India with a human face.
Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee president Ashok Chavan, senior party leader Ashok Gehlot were also present.
› Modi government is dishonest. It only cares for... industrialists and has provided them a ₹2.5 lakh crore corporate loan waiver.
RAHUL GANDHI, Congress chief