The BJP on Wednesday attacked Congress president Rahul Gandhi for lacking originality and living off borrowed ideas on loan waivers with Union Minister Smriti Irani wondering if he was taking tuitions for even dreaming. Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar also took a dig saying Rahul's statement is like "maano na maano, main hi champion".
Irani hit out at Rahul and made a satirical comment, "Aj kal sapna dikhane ke liye be tuition leni padti hai???". This after an audible Pre-press conference conversation suggested that Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia prompted Rahul on loan waivers to farmers in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Before his impromptu statement to the media, the Congress president is seen nodding as colleague Scindia leans in and advises him on what to say. "You need to say what Modi could not do, I have done," Scindia audibly says adding "...and don't ask for Centre's assistance..."
Latching on to the video, Irani tweeted, ""Rahul Gandhi takes tuition to dream and the current video shows that he doesn't trust his own words but he relies on others who teach him what to speak. It is a warning for the people of this country to know that he is not eligible for any electoral post."
At the same press conference, Rahul had also made the catchy comment " sone nahin dunga" against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said the Opposition "would not allow Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sleep" until farm loans are waived.
The loan waivers are seen as populist political measures to woo voters rather than provide a long-term solution to the agrarian crisis faced by the farmers in the country. It is estimated that around three lakh farmers have committed suicide from 1995 to 2015 and around 17 crore debt-ridden farmers have turned labourers as agriculture ceased to be remunerative over a period.
As one State Government after another announces populist loan waivers, it is not known who would foot the bill for the thousands of crore of rupees.
Soon after his party's poll victories in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Congress president moved fast to take credit for any potential farm loan waiver the Modi-Government might announce ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The BJP Government in Assam on Tuesday announced the approval of Rs 600 crore farm loan waivers, which it said will benefit around eight lakh farmers of the State. The same day, the party's Government in Gujarat announced a complete waiver of Rs 625 crore in unpaid electricity bills, under its one-time settlement scheme for over six lakh people living in rural parts of the State.
"What can I say? It's like 'maano na maano main hi champion'. Govt works after looking at everything. I don't think any other Govt has ever worked for farmers as much as the present Govt is doing", claimed Niti Ayog Vice-Chairman in a tweet while reacting to Rahul's pronouncements on loan waivers.
