PM has accepted his crime, time for people to punish him, says Congress

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 19

Moments after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the government decision to repeal the farm laws the opposition upped the ante on the issue with the Congress saying the PM had accepted his crime and it was now time for people to pronounce punishment.

The party said people had realised that “the nation’s victory lay in the BJP’s defeat”.

The Congress asked why the government couldn’t bring ordinances to repeal farm laws like it did to raise the tenures of probe agency chiefs.

While Congress leader Rahul Gandhi termed the development a victory of farmers over injustice and arrogance, party’s chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the retraction of the government was rooted in its electoral slide as visible in recent bypolls.

“Anti-farmer BJP powers have finally lost. Today is the day of defeat of Modi’s arrogance and a day of defeat of his few capitalist friends. The PM has publicly accepted his crime and it is now time for the people to pronounce punishment for this crime,” Surjewala said, adding that the deaths of 700 farmers over the last more than 11 months of the agitation “were on the PM and his royal obstinacy to not repeal the laws in time”.

“This decision has come because the BJP can see the slipping electoral ground as state elections approach. The power of votes is the biggest in a democracy. This power has made the government retract its steps after royal arrogance of over 11 months,” said Surjewala asking if ordinances could be brought to raise the tenures of two people, why can’t ordinances be brought to immediately repeal farm laws which affect 62 crore farmers.

“Why do you have to wait for the Parliament session to repeal farm laws when you can do so through ordinances by calling a cabinet meeting today?” the Congress general secretary asked.

Not amused by government decision which the Congress called too little too late, Surjewala asked the PM five questions —

“What’s the roadmap to give guaranteed MSP to farmers? What’s the roadmap to double farmers’ incomes? When will the excise duty on diesel be reversed? When will the GST tax on farm equipment be withdrawn and when will farm loans be waived?”

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