Prime minister made a mockery of farmers, says Priyanka Gandhi
MEERUT : Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi could not differentiate between “deshbhakt” (patriot) and “deshdrohi” (traitor) and, therefore, he made a mockery of farmers.
She was speaking at a kisan panchayat at the Ramleela ground in Chandpur town of Bijnor district in western UP. This was the second farmers’ meet addressed by her in the region. The previous one was in Chilkana town of Saharanpur district on February 10.
“I am here not to deliver a speech, but to have a conversation with you (farmers). You (farmers) make us leaders and we have a relationship of trust. You believe that your leader will raise your voice, and your worries and apprehensions will be heard,” she said at the panchayat attended by a gathering of farmers and people from Bijnor and the neighbouring districts.
“But what happened? You made Modi the PM twice with similar trust that he would work for your welfare and benefit. But he made a mockery of farmers and snubbed them as andolanjeevi and parjeevi. He could not make the difference between deshdrohi and deshbhakt,” she said.
She asked the gathering: “Did the income of farmers double?” The crowd responded with “no”.
The Congress leader also said the Modi government claimed that the three farm laws had been made for farmers’ welfare.
“But the question is when they (farmers) don’t want them, why are they (the government) adamant on enforcing them (the new laws)?” she asked.
The Congress leader also criticised PM Modi for allegedly ignoring the farmers who had been agitating at the Delhi borders for over two months.
She further said Modi should show respect to those who made him PM and repeal the three contentious farm laws.
She said capitalists could resort to hoarding through the new farm laws.
Raising the issue of sugarcane price, she said, “The state government has not increased the sugarcane support price for the past three years.”
During the panchayat, she, along with the gathering, observed two minutes’ silence as a mark of respect to those farmers who lost their lives during the agitation on Delhi borders.