Congress Reminds PM Modi of Pre-2014 Farmer Promises

The Congress today reminded Prime Minister Narendra Modi of his pre-2014 promises made to the farmers where he had strongly advocated MSP, from which he is backing out now.

Addressing a press conference at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters here today, the party spokesperson and the Chairman of the Media and Publicity (Communications Department) Pawan Khera displayed Prime Minister Modi’s earlier tweet of April 2014 wherein he has strongly advocated and supported the MSP.

Khera said, the farmers are demanding only what Modi had been seeking for them ten years ago. The farmers seem to have taken Modi’s advice seriously, he observed, while remarking, Chief Minister Modi is the Prime Minister’s worst critic, suggesting that Modi as Prime Minister is opposing what he demanded and supported as the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

The Congress spokesperson condemned the attempts to malign the farmers to the extent of terming them as “anti-nationals”. He criticized the government directive for suspending various social media handles of the farmers and also suspending the internet services to prevent the spread of messages.

He suggested that if the rumour mongering had really to be prevented, then the BJP should first close its IT cell which is infamous for spreading all sorts of rumours.

Khera suggested to Prime Minister Modi to take a queue from Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as to how he supported the agitating farmers during the Jaito Morcha which was started exactly 100 years ago on February 21, 1924, in Jaito village of Punjab. Pandit Nehru had personally supported the farmers' agitation then.

The Congress leader questioned the sincerity of the government of India in resolving the farmers’ issue pointing out how the group of ministers was making the farmer leaders wait for hours together and was making the meetings run behind schedule, with an obvious intent to demoralize them (the farm leaders).

He pointed out, on the one hand the government was talking to the farmers, on the other hand it was shutting up the internet and forcing the media not to report about the farmers’ agitation.

Reiterating his party’s commitment to farmers that the Congress government will bring in legal guarantee for the MSP once it forms the government, the party urged the Prime Minister to utilise the remaining few months of his government to concede the farmers’ demands.

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