launching a scathing attack on the Congress for its proposed farmers' agitation, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said that the Congress did nothing for the farmers during its over 60-year-old rule but is now planning a protest in their name.
While talking to media persons here, he said, “The so-called farmers' agitation proposed from June 1 to June 10 in Madhya Pradesh is, in fact, a Congress agitation being staged in an election year for drawing political mileage.”
Without mentioning any name, he said that a Congress MP had raised the issue of 'Kalavati from Maharashtra' earlier too. Singh praised the Shivraj Singh Chouhan Government for taking several steps in the welfare of farmers. He said that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre took several initiatives for agriculturists in the past four years. He reiterated the Centre's commitment to double the income of farmers by 2022.
In defense to the Bharatiya Janata Party's loss in recent by-elections, Singh said that one needs to go two step behind in order to make a long jump.
Singh was replying to media queries over whether the trends of by-poll results indicated a mandate against the BJP-led Centre and the Uttar Pradesh Government. He was here to address a press conference to apprise about achievements of the four-year-rule of the Narendra Modi Government.
Commenting on the rising prices of petroleum products and the scathing attack by the Opposition over the issue, he said that the price of crude oil in the international market is on an upward trend and petroleum companies are charging prices accordingly. "The country's economy is not being affected adversely. The Centre is capable of handling any emergency arising on the economic front. The government has foreign exchange reserves of 400 million dollars," said Singh.