MUZAFFARNAGAR: Congress national general secretary and UP state in-charge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took a potshot at Prime Minister Nagendra Modi claiming that “his two industrialist friends have been given a free run while farmers are being robbed”.
Speaking at a kisan panchayat in Baghra village of Muzaffarnagar district on Saturday – her third in Uttar Pradesh in the past 10 days, she said, “The billionaires have earned thousands of crores and distraught farmers are sitting on roads.”
“Farmers have been agitating on the borders of Delhi for 90 days. A total of 215 farmers have lost their lives. Though they protested peacefully, they were tortured. Delhi border was made like the country’s border and a heavy police force was deployed. The farmer, who sends his son to protect our borders, was humiliated. The PM mocked them by calling them andolanjivis,” she said speaking at Swami Kalyan Dev Inter College’s ground here.
Targeting the PM for his “arrogance”, Priyanka said, “After becoming Prime Minister twice, the PM is also showing arrogance. The farmers’ protest is going on 5–6 kilometres from Modi Ji’s house, but the PM did not go to listen to them because his politics is for his two billionaire friends.”
“The Prime Minister bought two airplanes at a higher price than the money pending for sugarcane payments. Modi had promised that sugarcane dues would be paid but it has not been done. A scheme to construct a Parliament building costing Rs 20,000 crore has been floated but sugarcane dues have not been paid. The electricity bills are rising. The BJP government earned 21.5 lakh crore from diesel tax, but there is no account of that money. Why did the farmers not get this money,” she said.
She said, “Taxes being levied on government mandis will not be given in private mandis. As a result, government mandis will be discontinued in the near future. The second law would include contract farming. With this, the billionaires would buy the crop of farmers in an arbitrary manner. The Minimum Support Price mechanism will end. They [the government] will give the farmers’ land to their rich businessmen friends.”