If voted to power, INDIA alliance to be voice of farmers: Rahul Gandhi

Nashik, Mar 14 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said the opposition INDIA alliance, if voted to power, will be the “voice of farmers” and frame policies to protect them, promising to exclude cultivators from GST and restructure crop insurance scheme.

He was addressing a farmers’ rally at Chandwad in Maharashtra’s Nashik district along with NCP (SP) head Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, as part of the Congress’ ongoing ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’.

“The INDIA alliance government will be the voice of farmers and work to protect their interests. Mine and our (INDIA bloc) government’s doors would always be open for farmers,” he said.

The Congress leader promised loan waiver for farmers, restructuring of crop insurance scheme to benefit cultivators, to protect crop prices in formulation of export import policies and to make efforts to exclude agriculture from GST and work on only one tax.

The Lok Sabha member from Wayanad also reiterated the Congress’ promise of a legal guarantee to minimum support price (MSP) as per the Swaminathan committee report.

The former Congress president claimed 20 to 25 people in the country have wealth equivalent to 70 crore of the country’s population.

The Narendra Modi government waived Rs 16 lakh crore debt of industrialists, he further claimed.

“This amount is equivalent to 24 years of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) under which Rs 35,000 crore is spent every year to give employment to the poor people,” Gandhi said.

He said the previous Congress-led UPA government had waived Rs 70,000 crore debt of farmers.

“If the loans of rich people can be written off, farmers also should get the benefit,” he said.

Criticising the Agnipath scheme (under which soldiers are enrolled as Agniveers by the armed forces), Gandhi said the Agniveers are excluded from pension and martyrdom status and are given training for only six months.

“Like soldiers who protect our country’s borders, farmers protect citizens within the country. If we don’t safeguard our jawans and kisans, the country cannot progress,” he said.

NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar accused the central government of being apathetic to the plight of farmers and the agriculture sector.

“Due to lack of a proper price for their produce, farmers are debt-ridden and committing suicide. The UPA government had waived Rs 70,000 crore loan of farmers,” he said.

“It is our collective responsibility to defeat the anti-farmer, anti-youth government which invites inflation,” the former Union minister said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is with Rahul Gandhi in the struggle to fight for people’s causes.

The MVA comprises the Congress, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar). It is part of the national-level opposition INDIA bloc.

Later, Congress general secretary and party’s in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh told reporters that a separate commission would be set up to decide the quantum of loan waiver if the opposition bloc forms the government after this year’s Lok Sabha polls.

A new crop insurance scheme would be worked out “in the interest of farmers and not private companies”, he said.

Ramesh said The GST Act would be amended to exclude agriculture-related items from its ambit. “The Modi government’s policy is to honour donors and disrespect farmers. But farmers will be the centre point of our policymaking,” he said.