Congress leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi has slammed the BJP-led Union government’s policies for farmers, saying while it waived the loans of big corporates, nothing has been done for the struggling agrarian community, which is neck deep in debt.
Speaking after inaugurating the new building of the Farmers’ Cooperative Bank at Mananthavady here on Friday, Mr. Gandhi also attacked the ruling Left Democratic Front in the State, alleging that it had no strategy to protect crops from wild animals and no steps had been taken to address the issue of man-animal conflict in the high ranges of the State. Farmers and agriculture were neglected and the farmers were pushed from all sides.
Urging the governments to protect the farmers and agriculture, he said: “Large businesses take loans, default and their loans are forgiven.” On the other hand, when farmers defaulted on small loans, they were held accountable. He wondered how thousands of farmers were sent notices under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Securities Interest (SARFAESI) Act. “Why this difference in treatment?”
Pointing to the issues faced by farmers in Kerala, he found fault with the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government for the lack of strategy to tackle man-animal conflict in the State’s high ranges. “Here they are facing human-animal conflict also. Wild animals are destroying their crops. The State government has no strategy to prevent this,” he said.
‘Irresponsible act’
Mr. Gandhi visited his MP office that was recently vandalised by the activists of the Students Federation of India, the students’ wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), over the buffer zone issue and termed the act “irresponsible.” Later, he told reporters that it was the office of the people of Wayanad and what had been done by the Left students’ cadre was “quite an unfortunate thing.” But, he made it clear that violence never resolved problems and he did not harbour any anger or hostility towards them. “Everywhere in the country, you see the idea that violence will resolve problems. Violence never resolves problems. It is not a good thing to do. They acted in an irresponsible way, but I don’t have any anger or hostility towards them,” he said.
(With inputs from PTI)
