Congress duping farmers: Javadekar
New Delhi, Dec 24 : Attacked by the Congress over farmers' issues, the BJP Monday sought to turn the tables on the party by accusing it of "duping" farmers in the states where it came to power with the promise of waiving their loans.
Charging the Congress with betraying farmers, Union minister Prakash Javadekar also took a dig at its president Rahul Gandhi, saying peasants will now spoil his sleep.
He was apparently reacting to Gandhi's remark that he will not let Prime Minister Narendra Modi sleep till all farm loans are waived.
At a press conference, Javadekar quoted figures to claim that the Congress has done little to waive farmers' loan in states like Karnataka and Punjab and that it has also not met its promise in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, the three states it won recently.
Javadekar told reporters that the Congress had promised to waive all farm debt in these five states but has now turned back on its promise.
He told reporters that the Congress had promised a farm loan waiver of Rs 45,000 loan in Karnataka, but had not paid even Rs 75 crore so far.
Against the total farmers' loan of Rs 90,000 crore in Punjab, the state's Congress government has not even allocated Rs 3 crore in the budget, he said.
Farmers had hoped that they would no longer have to repay their dues but banks have been serving notices on them, causing them distressed, the BJP leader said.
Javadekar claimed 397 farmers have committed suicide in the six-month reign of the JD(S)-Congress government in Karnata.
Agriculture distress and farmers' woes have been a key campaign issue of Gandhi, who has blamed the Narendra Modi government for this, and political watchers believe that it has played a role in his party's win in the recent state polls.
The BJP's counter-offensive indicate that that the party has come to realise the seriousness of the issue and believes that it can corner the Congress over the matter.
Javadekar alleged that the Karnataka government even asked the nationalised banks to write off farmers' loans and has now come out with 52 eligibility conditions for the loan waiver.
Not more than 15 per cent farmers will be eligible, he said.
"The long reign of over 50 years of the Congress at the Centre is responsible for the farmers' plight, and the Modi government has tried to change their fortunes by giving then enhanced priced for their crops," he said.
"The Congress has always been anti-farmers. It is betraying them, duping them in the name of loan waiver," he alleged.
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SC calls PIL on packaged drinking water standards ‘luxury litigation’
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to hear a public interest litigation (PIL) that sought enforcement of international-quality standards for packaged drinking water in India, calling it an example of “luxury litigation” in a country where a large populace lacks access to basic drinking water.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi questioned the relevance of the petition filed by Sarang Vaman Yadwadkar, who wanted Indian bottled-water norms to match those followed in countries such as the UK, Australia and Saudi Arabia, The New Indian Express reported.
“Where is the drinking water in this country, madam? People do not have drinking water; the quality of bottled water will come later on,” Chief Justice Surya Kant, who was sitting with Justice Joymalya Bagchi, said, adding that these are luxury litigations.
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At the outset, the CJI questioned the very premise of the petition, observing that the court could not lose sight of broader realities faced by the country.
Senior advocate Anita Shenoy, appearing for the petitioner, argued that the issue concerned public health and consumer safety. She reportedly said the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 requires packaged drinking water to comply with specific safety norms, and citizens are entitled to clean, safe drinking water.
Suggesting to the petitioner to spare some time for India's to grow further, the bench allegedly said, Let India grow first. Nobody takes up the cause of the poor. This is all urban phobia.
The court also advised her to travel across the country and see the reality. “Mahatma Gandhi, when he returned from South Africa, travelled across rural areas to understand the plight of the people,” TNIE quoted the CJI as saying.
The court ultimately allowed the petitioner to withdraw the PIL, granting liberty to approach the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) or other competent authorities to seek redressal.
