Kickstarting her Punjab campaign, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Sunday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his agriculture policy.
While addressing a ‘Nyay Sankalp rally’ in Khanna’s new grain market, Priyanka Gandhi said the PM “simply failed to understand Punjab’s jazbaa (spirit) and never respected farmers who made the country self-sufficient with their blood and sweat.”
“The truth is (Modi) doesn’t respect you a bit, not one bit… Satta ke liye kuch bhi kar daalenge Modi ji (Modi can do anything to be in power),” she said, adding that 700 farmers lost their lives while protesting against the Centre’s now-repealed three farm laws.
“He only took them (three farm laws) back ahead of the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. This shows he can do anything for power, not farmers,” she said.
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi at a campaign rally in Punjab’s Khanna on Sunday. (Express photo by Gurmeet Singh)
Campaigning for Congress’s Fatehgarh Sahib candidate Dr Amar Singh, Priyanka Gandhi said it had been the country’s tradition to respect its farmers, but in the past 10 years, “this government has only done lip service for farmers.”
“Cutting across party lines, our country and its politicians have always respected farmers… knowing that they have filled our stomachs…. But in their (Modi-led government) hearts, they don’t have an iota of respect for farmers,” said Priyanka Gandhi, adding that the BJP-led government has only burdened farmers with rising fuel prices, and GST, among others.
Promising guaranteed MSP law, crop damage compensation within one month, and GST waiver on the purchase of agricultural equipment if the Congress came to power, Priyanka Gandhi said: “It’s time to show the door to Modi’s arrogance. He can do anything on the face of this earth to remain in power. This time choose the one who holds farmers and their sacrifices as supreme.”
All 13 seats of Punjab and the solitary Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat will go to the polls on June 1.