New Delhi, March 9
Signalling her party’s intention to make the farm loan waiver a major poll plank in the electoral battles ahead, Congress president Sonia Gandhi today blamed the policies of the NDA government for the farmers’ problems, saying that the UPA government had been working consistently for their welfare.
In her address at the Dhanyavad-Abhinandan Rally, organised by the AICC at Ramlila Grounds here, Sonia launched a counter-attack on the BJP on the issue of terrorism and advocated strict action against those targeting people in the name of region and religion.
There was no mention in her address of the contentious Indo-US nuclear deal or the impending assembly contests, though the main aim of the rally was to build momentum on the loan waiver package which is expected to benefit four crore farmers in the country.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who spoke before Sonia, urged party workers to tell every farmer in the country that the Rs 60,000 crore loan waiver was a decision of the Congress president and the UPA government.
Referring to the price rise, Sonia said the government was doing its best to tackle the issue. She said the government had considerably cushioned the impact of hike in international prices of crude oil and had not hiked the price of kerosene.
In an apparent reference to the violence by MNS activists and statements of some Shiv Sena leaders against sections of people from outside Maharashtra working in the state, Sonia said all citizens had equal rights in the country.
Her assertion that people practising discrimination on the basis of religion or region should not be spared is being seen as a direction to the Maharashtra government to act tough against those targeting sections of north Indians in the state.
Without naming NDA’s prime ministerial candidate LK Advani, who has accused the government of being soft on the issue of terrorism, Sonia said they needed no certificate from the “big leader of BJP” during whose tenure as home minister, the country had faced terrorist incidents such as Kandahar hijacking and attacks on Parliament, Red Fort, Raghunath and Akshardham temples.
She said the budget had taken
care of all sections of society, including the weaker ones. ”It is a budget of the poor, of common man, farmers and women,” she said. Describing farmers as “annadata” (bread-winners), she said the country was indebted towards them and paying their debts was actually fulfilling a duty.
Asking NDA what it had done for farmers during its rule, she said the opposition alliance was now shedding “crocodile tears.” “If farmers have faced problems for some time, the only reason is the policies pursued by the NDA government,” she said.
The Congress president said the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme was being extended to the entire country and rural infrastructure was being given a boost by the Bharat Nirman.
Referring to the steps taken by the UPA for the welfare of women, she said laws had been enacted for their empowerment and major tax concessions had been given to them in the budget. Honorarium of anganwadi workers had also been hiked substantially.
The Prime Minister, whose address was largely focused on the steps taken by the UPA government for the benefit of farmers in the past four years, said there would be no leniency in implementing the loan waiver, which has a June deadline.
Terming the loan waiver as the biggest among the historic steps taken by the UPA government for farmers, he said farm credit had been tripled in the past four years, special package given to 31 farmer-distress districts and MSP of wheat and rice increased substantially.
He said Rs 35,000 crore would be invested in agriculture in the next five years under the National Agriculture Development Fund and National Food Mission.
Asserting that his government had given a new direction to agriculture, the Prime Minister took a dig at the NDA government, saying that farmers were in distress when the UPA came to office in 2004. “Public spending in agriculture was less, MSP of crops was low and government was keen to empty godowns of foodgrains. All of you know that lakhs of tonnes of paddy and wheat were being sold at a loss in foreign countries,” he said.
Rejecting criticism of the farm loan waiver by some intellectual circles, he said it will enable farmers to take loans, improve balance sheet of banks and increase prosperity in rural areas.
He said the price of ration in PDS shops had not been increased by the UPA government and measures had been initiated to provide social security to people in rural areas.
Among those who spoke were external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Punjab PCC chief Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Haryana PCC chief Phool Chand Mullana, Rajasthan PCC chief CP Joshi, UPPCC chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi and Kisan Mazdoor Congress chief Shamsher Singh Surjewala.
