Solapur, Aug 11: NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Sunday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his assurance of doubling the income of farmers, claiming the BJP rule had, in fact, witnessed the doubling of farmer suicides.

Addressing a rally at Barshi town in Maharashtra's Solapur district, Pawar claimed farmers were not getting adequate prices for their produce and had become debt-ridden.

"The prime minister had promised to double the income of farmers, but instead, farmer suicides have doubled," he charged.

The NCP (SP) chief said the need of the hour is to change the government in the state and install a regime that protects the interests of farmers, youth and women.

"The BJP governments at the Centre and the state haven't used their power to reduce the hardships of farmers and create employment opportunities for the youth. You will see youth in distress because of the lack of jobs. We have to change the government," the former Union agriculture minister said.

Pawar pointed out that the BJP could not even win 300 seats in the recent Lok Sabha elections despite its slogan "400 paar".

"It could form the government with the help of parties from Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. The need of the hour is to reduce the debt burden on farmers, and hence, loans should be waived," he said, citing that he had done so when he held the charge of the agriculture ministry.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Davangere: The Congress candidate is leading in the Davangere South Assembly by-election after the completion of the 14th round of counting.

According to the latest figures, the Congress has secured 46,460 votes, while the BJP stands at 39,037 votes, trailing by 7,423 votes.

The SDPI candidate has polled 15,303 votes so far.

Counting is still underway, and final results are awaited.