Cong take a swipe at BJP’s campaign

Farmers, soldiers dying under chowkidar’s watch, says Sibal

New Delhi, March 23: The Congress on Saturday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Main Bhi Chowkidar” campaign, saying soldiers, farmers, dalits and minorities were dying under the watch of the “chowkidar”.

He also raised the issue of demonetisation and alleged that thousands of small businesses were ruined due to the flawed policies of the Union government.

Mr Modi and his partymen have launched the “Main Bhi Chowkidar” (I too am a watchman) campaign to blunt the Opposition’s, especially the Congress’, “chowkidar chor hai” (watchman is a thief) slogan.

Addressing a press conference here, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said as many as 6,351 farmers committed suicide in 2016, while the number of protests by farmers increased from 628 in 2014 to 4,837 in 2016.

“As many as 52 per cent of farming families are indebted today with an average outstanding loan of `1 lakh.

“From July to December 2018, the minimum support price (MSP) increase merely covered the input cost and was way below the Swami-nathan Commission recommendations,” he said.

The Congress leader said that soldiers were being killed everyday and that the number of security personnel killed in terrorist attacks had risen ever since the Modi dispensation assumed office, citing strikes in Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Uri and Pulwama.