Amritsar: Mallikarjun Kharge promises loan waiver, GST abolition in agri sector

Neeraj Bagga

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Amritsar, May 28

Three days after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tried to woo Punjab farmers here with announcements of freebies if his party came to power, All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge announced that if the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) was voted to power, then the loans of farmers would be waived and MSP guaranteed. He also announced that GST will be abolished from the agriculture sector.

Addressing a press conference in favour of his party candidate Gurjit Singh Aujla here on Tuesday, Kharge slammed the Modi government on the issue of farmers. He said about 750 farmers died during the farm stir because of the lopsided agricultural policies of the BJP government and assured that in the case of crop insurance, payment will be arranged within 30 days. He asserted that GST will be abolished from agricultural products when the government is formed.

He mocked the BJP’s slogan ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’ (development of all with assistance of everyone) as ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Satyanash’ (assistance of all is taken for their devastation). Elaborating on this, he stated that income has been stagnant while inflation has kept galloping during the past 10 years. Recruitment in defence sector had been upset because of the Agniveer scheme which shortened the tenure of jawans in the armed forces, 30 lakh jobs were lying vacant with the Central government departments and these would be filled on priority basis, he said.

He said his party, its leaders and workers were against the ideology of the BJP and RSS which favour disharmony among religions. Both organisations together desire to end the Constitution, he alleged, saying the Congress party would not allow it to happen. He said the Constitution made by Dr BR Ambedkar is absolutely fine but those who run it are not so. He added that the Modi government does not want to encourage free thinking.

Comparing the Narendra Modi government with the Manmohan Singh government, he sarcastically said while Modi talks more and works less, Manmohan Singh worked more and spoke less.

Talking about the election manifesto of Congress, he said 10 kg of free foodgrain to poor families would be offered.

On the BJP’s claim of winning more than 400 seats, he said the claim was baseless because the BJP did not have any existence in several states including Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and was fighting for political space in West Bengal and Odisha. He claimed that the BJP would not be able to get more than 200 seats.