Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday launched a stinging attack on the Modi Government saying the country is being run by four people and that “farming reforms” are aimed to create a business monopoly, help corporate, finish “mandi-system” and impoverish “kisan”, “majdoor” and small businessmen.
Addressing the Lok Sabha during the Budget debate, the Congress leader did not take any names but apparently referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and two leading businessmen of the country, saying they are the ones running the country.
Recalling the Prime Minister’s speech in the House on Wednesday that everyone is talking about the farm agitation but not about its “content and intent”, the Congress leader said “let me make the PM happy” by talking about them.
Amid noisy interruptions and point of order raised by the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, the MP from Wayanad cited an old family planning slogan, launching “hum do, humare do ki sarkar” jibe at the Central Government.
Rahul alleged that the three new agriculture laws passed during the Monsoon Session in 2020 would allow industrialists to buy unlimited quantity of foodgrains and hoard them. He further alleged the Acts will destroy India’s food security system which would hurt the rural economy.
“Let us discuss the content and intent of the farm laws. The content of the first farm law is to end the mandis. The second law will allow hoarding by amending the Essential Commodities Act, and the third law doesn’t allow farmers to approach court in case of a dispute,” said Rahul in the House amid vociferous opposition from the BJP members.
While taking a dig at Modi-Shah by his refrain of “hum-do-humare-do”, the Congress MP said this is not the first attempt by the Prime Minister to “impoverish rural economy”. The first, he said was “notebandi” which was “take money from poor put in the money in the bank and give it to ‘humare do’, “ he said.
He alleged that the Modi’s economy has broken the backbone of small and medium businesses, kisan, ‘majdoor’ and finished employment in the country.
“It’s not a farmers’ agitation but of the country, farmers are only showing the way”. He said the Centre will have to repeal the Acts.
The Congress leader and his party members stood in silence “in memory of 200 kisan died during agitation”. Speaker Lok Sabha Om Birla objected to it saying it is not a correct tradition as the responsibility of running the House has been entrusted to him.
Responding to Rahul’s attack, Union Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs and BJP leader Anurag Thakur took a dig at the Congress leader, saying some members don’t know the rules of the House as they normally are absent from the sittings and also from the country.
He returned Congress MP’s jibe of “ham do hamare do” saying it was a reference to Rahul and his ‘jijaji’s family ( Priyanka and Robert Vadra).
“A senior MP was speaking before me, so I thought he must be knowing rules of this House and that if one issue has already been discussed, it is not discussed again. Secondly, I can understand that he was not prepared to speak on Budget,” Thakur said.
