Farmers' budget will declare MSP in advance, says Rahul Gandhi

Vanthli: Congress president Rahul Gandhi said Thursday that Minimum Support Prices (MSP) would also be announced in the separate farmers’ budget which his party’s manifesto has promised.

Addressing a campaign rally at Vanthli in Junagadh district, he also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of applying different rules to the rich and the poor.

“If the Congress comes to power, the country will have two budgets. One will be national budget and another farmers’ budget.

“In the farmers’ budget we will announce MSP for various crops in advance so that farmers know what they will get. We will (also) announce the amount of insurance (premium) payable (by farmers) and what the would farmers get,” he said.

The Modi government was ready to waive loans of rich industrialists but not those of farmers, he said.

“We will not allow formation of two Indias. If we have one flag, then we should have one nation. If Ambani gets justice, farmers should also get justice,” Gandhi said.

If big industrialists defaulted on repayment of loan, they are not jailed, but if a poor farmer is unable to pay an instalment, he is put behind bars, the Congress chief said.

Gandhi also claimed that his party’s ambitious ‘Nyay’ minimum income guarantee scheme under which poor families will get Rs 72,000 per year will not harm the economy, but instead help it grow.

“Modi had made a false promise of giving Rs 15 lakh to everyone, but my promise of giving Rs 3.6 lakh (in five years) to poor families is true,” Gandhi said.

The BJP has criticised the Nyay scheme in the Congress manifesto saying it would hurt the economy and increase the tax burden of the middle class.