Modi accuses Congress of shedding crocodile tears for farmers
Mirzapur, July 15 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused the Congress, as well as and other opposition parties, of shedding crocodile tears for farmers and said several irrigation projects in the country had languished in its rule.
Addressing a public meeting after inaugurating the Bansagar canal project and laying foundation stone of Mirzapur medical college here, he said the BJP-led government looked at the pending irrigation projects throughout the country after assuming office in 2014.
"Those who are shedding crocodile tears for farmers these days, you should ask them why they could not see the pending irrigation projects throughout the nation during their rule," he said, adding that people suffered as previous governments did not complete projects on time.
Referring to the Bansagar project, he said it had been first conceptualized about four decades ago and the foundation stone was laid in 1978 but the project was unduly delayed.
He said project would have cost around Rs 300 crore if completed on its original schedule but it had now cost Rs 3,500 crore.
"The Bansagar project will not just provide irrigation in Mirzapur but also 1.5 lakh hectares of this whole area including Allahabad," Modi said.
He said the project will provide a big boost to irrigation in the region and noted that both the BJP-led government and the Yogi Adityanath government in the state were giving a lot of attention to development of eastern Uttar Pradesh.
He also listed the steps taken by his government for farmers including hike in the minimum support price (MSP) for kharif crops and said all efforts were being made to double the income of farmers in the next four years.
"Where there will be surety of medicine for the poor, irrigation for farmer, education for children, employment for youth, where there will be a lot of facilities and system will be honest, we are moving towards such New India," Modi said.
He said his government has taken several measures to provide affordable healthcare to the poor, including Jan Aushadhi Kendras.
"These Jan Aushadi Kendras are becoming a much-larger support of poor, lower-middle class. More than 700 medicines in these centres and over half a hundred surgeries are available at cheap prices," he said.
The Prime Minister said the Swachh Bharat Mission is also proving effective in controlling disease. He said the health insurance scheme -- Ayushman Bharat -- would be rolled out soon and also spoke of other social welfare schemes of the Central government.
Modi had arrived in Mirzapur on Sunday, on the second day of his visit to Uttar Pradesh.
The Bansagar canal project would help at least 1.70 lakh farmers of both Mirzapur and Allahabad with the irrigation sector receiving a huge boost. A joint venture of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, the canal is 171 km long.
He also inaugurated 100 Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadi Kendras and a bridge over the Ganga river.
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PM must clarify whether he endorses Sarma's 'utterly shameful' remarks on Kharge: Priyanka
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New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday said the use of "abusive" language by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma against Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is "utterly shameful" and added Prime Minister Narendra Modi must clarify whether he endorses this "insult".
Sarma had triggered a row on Tuesday when he hit out at Kharge, saying that he was "speaking like a mad man" due to old age, after the latter put the onus on central agencies to probe the charges made against the Assam chief minister.
In a post in Hindi on X, Priyanka Gandhi said, "The kind of abusive and derogatory language used by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma against the Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, is utterly shameful and unacceptable."
She said Kharge is one of the most senior leaders in the country and serves as an enlightened representative not only of the Congress party but also of the Dalits and the marginalised sections of the nation.
"By insulting him, the BJP chief minister has insulted crores of people across the country," she said.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi must clarify to the nation: does he endorse this insult directed at crores of Indians?" she said.
The Congress on Tuesday accused Sarma of insulting party chief Kharge and demanded an unconditional apology from him for his "deplorable conduct" that it alleged reflects the "anti-Dalit mindset" of the BJP.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday had said the use of "derogatory language" against party chief Mallikarjun Kharge by Sarma was an insult to the entire SC/ST community, and the silence of Prime Minister Modi on the matter "is not his helplessness, but his consent".
"If the prime minister sees an attack on the dignity of crores of Dalits in the country and does not speak up - he is not only shirking his responsibility, but is also a party to that insult," Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X.
Gandhi said the use of "vulgar and derogatory language" by Sarma against Kharge "is entirely condemnable, shameful, and unacceptable".
"Kharge ji is a senior and popular Dalit leader of the country - his experience, stature, and prestige are unparalleled. Insulting him is not an insult to one individual alone, but also to crores of people from the SC-ST community in this country," he posted.
This, he said, just reflected the "old and premeditated mindset" of the BJP-RSS and was nothing new.
"Whether it is the insult to Babasaheb Ambedkar, belittling Dalit leaders, or personal attacks on representatives of the SC-ST community - the history of BJP and RSS bears witness that whenever a Dalit leader speaks the truth, they stoop to humiliate him," Gandhi said.
"This is their ideology, this is their true character and face," he added.
Posing a direct question to the prime minister, he asked, "Do you support Himanta Sarma's use of this language? Your silence is not helplessness, it is consent."
