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Rahul Gandhi attacks Modi over farmers' suicide in Parliament

by IBNS 29 Apr 2015, 08:07 am

New Delhi, Apr 29 (IBNS) Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday raised the issue of farmers' plight and suicide in Lok Sabha attacking the Narendra Modi government and using the reference of BJP's Haryana minister who said farmers committing suicide are cowards.

"I want to bring their pain before you here. They are crying, they are in pain and your minister in Haryana is saying that those committing suicides are cowards," said Rahul Gandhi.

"Government is saying that Make in India [manufacturing push of Modi] should be reality. Are not farmers making it in India? It is our government, but not a government of farmers and labourers," said Gandhi.

Taking a jibe at Narendra Modi for his frequent foreign tours, Rahul Gandhi said: "The Prime Minister has come to India on tour, he should go to Punjab too for some days and find out what is happening."

He said the government helps the farmers and go to the markets (mandis) procure the wheat (blackened by unseasonal rain) and it will be good for them only. 

 Amid opposition attack on the BJP-led government in centre over the issue of farmers' suicide, a minister in Haryana in the state's BJP government said farmers committing suicide are "cowards" who are running away from their responsibility and the government should not support them.

"In our law suicide is a crime. Such a person is actually running away from the responsibility of his wife and children. Such people are cowards and the government cannot stand by such people," said  Haryana Agriculture Minister OP Dhankar.

Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar earlier had slammed the previous Congress government for being "insensitive" to the issue of farmers and announced a compensation of Rs 1092 crore for crop loss.

The incidents of farmers' suicide is a raging political issue in India now with the Congress stepping up the heat on the BJP for its land acquisition ordinance.

The suicide of a farmers in a rally of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in New Delhi also generated a lot of controversy.

Flexing political muscles after his controversial 57-day-long sabbatical, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi recently assured the farmers in a rally that he will 'fight their battle' while slamming the Narendra Modi government at the Centre and saying that the Prime Minister aims in making the base of India weak by his 'pro-corporate' measures.

"The government has forgotten that this country belongs to farmers. This country does not belong to the corporate houses. Farmer have created the base of India," Rahul Gandhi said earlier claiming that the Prime Minister is weakening the same base.

Hundreds of farmers are committing suicide all over India for crop failure.