Will exclude farmers from GST, waive loans if INDIA bloc wins, says Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday took potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for working only for “media attention” through actions like performing undersea puja, flying an aircraft, and visiting the border areas along Pakistan and China while neglecting the urgent issues faced by farmers, including loan waivers.

He said the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) would champion farmers’ rights if elected, vowing to exempt them from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and work on only one tax, revamp crop insurance, and ensure a fair Minimum Support Price (MSP).

‘Voice of farmers’

Addressing a ‘Shetkari Sammelan’ (farmers’ conference) at Nashik’s Chandwad as part of the ongoing Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, he said: “We will exclude farmers from GST and restructure crop loan insurance schemes for your [farmers’] benefit. We will be the ‘voice of farmers’ and frame policies to protect you.”

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut joined the former Congress president in his yatra.

He greeted the farmers with ‘Rama Rama Mandali’ and reaffirmed the Congress’s pledge to enact a legal guarantee for MSP, citing recommendations from the Swaminathan committee report, and that a government led by the INDIA bloc would always keep its doors open for farmers.

“The issues of farmers, inflation, unemployment, and Agniveers are the most prominent in the country today. You will never see TV channels discuss these issues. Instead, you see Mr. Modi going under the sea to do a puja, taking a seaplane, or at times visiting borders,” he stated.