New Delhi, Flaying the Centre for waiving corporate loans totalling 3.17 lakh crore instead of those of farmers, the Congress on Wednesday accused the Modi government of trying to create a “kisan-mukt Bharat”.
Condemning the Tuesday’s police crackdown on protesting farmers on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border, the Congress questioned the government’s “indifference” towards the demands of farmers who have been protesting across the country.
“The Modi government has become a symbol of cruelty against farmers. It seems it is trying to build an India free of farmers and its slogan is ‘loot kisan and hit kisan,” said Congress Spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala here.
Citing a Reserve Bank of India report, he said that the government waived loans totalling Rs 3,17,000 crore of a handful of corporates between April 2014 and April 2018 but it has no time to pay heed to the long-standing demand for farm loan waiver.
Blaming the NDA regime for aggravation of the agrarian crisis in the country, the Congress questioned Modi and his government about fulfilling the 2014 promise, including that of cost plus 50 per cent profit to farmers.
“Since independence, no government has ever imposed a tax on agriculture. Then, why the Modi government has imposed Goods and Services Tax on tractors and agricultural implements, insecticides, and tractor tyres and spare parts?” it asked.
The party accused the government of breaking the backbone of farmers by steeply hiking
prices of diesel and fertilisers.
The Congress also alleged that the Prime Minister Crop Insurance Scheme has become a profit-reaping scheme for private insurance companies.
“In 2016-17 and 2017-18, the Modi government collected Rs 19,000 crore through agricultural cess. But the farmers under the Crop Insurance Scheme received a compensation of only Rs 5,650 crore whereas the companies made a profit of Rs 14,828 crore through premium,” Surjewala claimed.
