PM has time for foreign tours, but not for farmers: Priyanka
Taking a dig at PM Modi, the Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that he can make foreign trips but has no time to meet farmers sitting on a dharna, just a few kilometers away from his residence.
“There is hardly any countr y in the world not travelled by the PM. He went to China and also to Pakistan. But he can’t travel a few kilometers to Delhi borders to meet agitating farmers,” she hit at the PM while addressing a Kisan Mahapanchayat in Bijnor ’s Chandpur, Priyanka. Priyanka alleged that the countr y's PM was unable to understand the magnitude of farmers’ agitation. “Over 200 farmers have so far laid their lives. A 25-year-old farmer was shot. But still the Prime Minister is unable to differentiate between a patriot and traitor,” she charged.
She also took a jibe at the Prime Minister for calling agitating farmers ‘Andolan-Karees’. “I am the daughter of a martyr. Modi ji farmers are standing at your doors. Their sons are manning the borders. You have no right to demean farmers by calling them Andolan-Karees,” she commented, in a bid to establish an emotional chord with farmers present at the rally.
After developing 4 villages, PM Modi will adopt 2 more villages in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi under ‘ Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana’ (SAGY), launched by him in 2014 when he became the country’s premier. Last year, the scheme was put on hold due to the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, the PM has decided to adopt 2 villages this year under SAGY to keep his track record of developing villages straight.
SAGY is a rural development programme focusing social and cultural development of a village and mobilisation of village community for an overall development. Modi had exhorted MPs to adopt 1 village every year to make it a model for others to follow. Though all BJP MPs had adopted villages, there were not many takers from the opposition parties.
Modi has already adopted and developed 4 villages — Jayapur, Nagapur, Kakarhia and Domri — in his
Varanasi. He is now adopting Bariyarpur and Parhampur villages under SAGY this year. A few days ago, the Mini PMO, Varanasi had sent a list of undeveloped villages to PMO with details. It had zeroed in on Bariyarpur and Parhampur.
An announcement will be made shortly by the PMO for adoption of the 2 villages. The district administration has already begun preparations for the adoption of the selected villages. DM Kaushal Raj Sharma said though they have not received any official communiqué from the PMO, authorities are gearing up for adoption. “We are expecting an official announcement soon. The development work will commence as soon as we receive the green signal,” Sharma said.