SDM ‘advises’ kin of Mandsaur deceased to avoid Rahul’s rally Jaitley slams Congress chief for his MP speech
Brother of a farmer who died in police firing says government official told him to also dissuade his parents from meeting Cong chief
MANDSAUR: The brother of a farmer who died in police firing in Mandsaur last year, and was then provided a government job by the state government, was advised by a local sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) to skip Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s rally to mark the anniversary of that farmer’s protest and also dissuade his parents from meeting Gandhi.
The families of all the six people killed during last year’s protest on June 6 last year had been invited by the Congress party to meet Gandhi, who held a farmer’s rally in Pipliya Mandi, near Mandsaur on Wednesday.
Sandeep Patidar, brother of Abhishekh (17) who died in the police firing said that he received a message that the Garot sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) wanted to talk to him. “When I spoke to him, SDM RP Verma advised me not to take part in Rahul Gandhi’s rally and also asked me to dissuade my parents from meeting Gandhi. I told him that my parents would be meeting Rahul Gandhi, but that because I work in Bhanpura, I wouldn’t be going to the rally in any case.”
The SDM’S action attracted criticism from the Congress. “This is absolute violation of a person’s democratic rights. No one can stop anyone from meeting Rahul Gandhi. I blame the state government more than the local administration, as the latter is working under pressure,” said Congress leader and former MP Meenakshi Natrajan.
SDM Verma defended his action and said that he had advised Patidar not to take part in the rally or meet Rahul Gandhi as he is a government servant. “It was a friendly advice as I did not want him to get into any trouble,” Verma added.
Abhishekh’s parents along with other family of those killed met Rahul Gandhi for over 15 minutes before the start of the rally. After Abhishekh’s death, the government announced a ₹1 crore compensation to his family and also provided a government job to Patidar. Mandsaur collector OP Shrivastava echoed Verma’s opinion and said Sandeep should not take part in political rallies as he is a government servant. But the administration did not try to stop anyone else from meeting Gandi, he clarified. “The Congress gave a list of 15 persons who would meet Rahul Gandhi, and we granted the permission, so there is no question of stopping anyone”.
Talking to the media after the rally late Abhishekh’s parents Jagdish and Mamta Patidar alleged that the police were keeping tabs on their movement. Jagdish was fearful for the safety of his other son. “I have already lost a son. I don’t want to lose another one. From now I won’t be able sleep in peace at night,” he said.
With the ongoing “Gaon bandh” farmer protest that coincides with the first anniversary of the Mandsaur shootings, the local administration is taking no chances. It has made over 1,200 farmers of Mandsaur sign bonds promising that they won’t disturb the peace. NEW DELHI: Union minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said he wonders how much Congress president Rahul Gandhi knows about the subjects he speaks on . On Wednesday, when Gandhi spoke at Madhya Pradesh’s Mandsaur, accusing the Bjp-led central government of ignoring interest of farmers, Jaitley wrote in a blog post: “Every time I listen to the view of Rahul Gandhi, both inside and outside Parliament, I ask myself the same question – How much does he know? When will he know?”
Listening to his speech delivered in MP today, Jaitley said, reaffirms his curiosity about the answer. “Is he being inadequately briefed or is he being a little too liberal with his facts.”
The minister issued a point-bypoint rebuttal of six points Gandhi raised.
Jaitley said Gandhi’s claim accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of waiving loans worth ₹2.5 lakh crores of the 15 top industrialists in the country was completely false.
“The Government has not waived of a single rupee due from any industrialist,” he said, adding that the facts are to the contrary. “Those who owed money to the banks and other creditors have been declared insolvent and removed from their companies by IBC enacted by Prime Minister Modi’s Government. These loans were given largely during the UPA Government,” he said.
The Congress was quick to hit back. “Has arrogance of power reached such a zenith where BJP is blind to farmer distress? How are empty worded blogs an answer to betrayal of farmers by the Modi government?” asked Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala.
He added that Gandhi’s farmers’ rally at Mandsaur has “shaken the foundations of the anti-farmer” BJP.
Jaitley also rejected as false the claim that loans aren’t available to farmers but only to industrialists. “This was during the UPA Government, particularly UPA II, when bulk of amount (that) constitutes the NPA’S today were given by the banking system during the period 2008-14. From 2014 we have been systematically taking one step after the other to recover these monies back,” he said.
He said Gandhi’s claim that the PM has given ₹3,5000 crores each to two diamond jewellers who have now escaped out of country was also “factually false”. He said this banking fraud started in the year 2011 when the UPA II was in power. “It was only detected during the NDA period,” Jaitley said.
The minister said Gandhi’s claim that if the Congress comes to power, mobile phones, which are made in China, will now be manufactured in India is “a case of inadequate knowledge”.
Jaitley also disputed Gandhis’ claim that jobs are not being created in India.
The latest GDP date has re-emphasised, he said, that India is world’s fastest growing economy and there is a double digit growth in construction, expansion in manufacturing, an increased capital formation which indicates investment increase, large investment in physical infrastructure and increased investment in rural India.
Attacking the BJP, Surjewala said young people have been betrayed by the right-wing party. “Jaitley waxes eloquent about jobs. BJP promised 20 million jobs per year, but the stark reality that it has only betrayed our youth. Modi government created only 4.16 lakh jobs in 2016-17... while demonetisation led to loss of 1.5 million jobs.”