india

Updated: Dec 29, 2018 19:21 IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday accused the Congress of making unrealistic promises for votes, and hoodwinking farmers on the issue of loan waivers.

“They promised ‘loan lollipop’ to lakhs of farmers but waived off loans of merely a handful of them,” he said while addressing a rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur district after laying foundation of a government medical college.

“Under the new (Congress) governments in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, we can already see long queues of farmers seeking fertilizers and urea. They were also lathicharged. Those who do black marketing have come into play,” he alleged.

In Karnataka, he said that the Congress promised to waive loans of lakhs of farmers and got their votes. “While they managed to form the government through backdoor, they actually waived off loans of merely 800 farmers,” he alleged, urging the voters to understand the “game plan and false promises” made by the Congress.

He said permanent solution to the country’s perennial problems cannot be solved by the decisions taken for immediate benefits.

Alleging that the Congress didn’t give minimum support price (MSP) as recommended by the Swaminathan Commission, he said, “While the Congress kept on sitting on the files of Swaminathan Commission recommendations, our government gave the MSP and is working seriously on doubling the income of farmers.”

He said the newly-inaugurated Rice Research Centre in Kashi, the Bansagar canal project and the under construction fertilizer factory would help the government in doubling the income of farmers. “The idea is to ensure that farmers get more benefit by producing the product in a lesser cost,” he said.

The prime minister also released a commemorative postal stamp in the honour of Maharaja Suheldev Rajbhar, who is said to have killed the Ghaznavid general Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud in the early 11th century and is revered by the Rajbhar community in the region.

The Rajbhars constitute around 20 per cent of the Purvanchal (east UP) population and are regarded as the second politically dominant community after the Yadavs in the area. However, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party president Om Prakash Rajbhar, who is a BJP ally and a minister in the state’s Yogi Adityanath government, had announced he would stay away from the rally.

Accusing the previous governments of ignoring Maharaja Suheldev, Modi said he was kind-hearted king who worked for all. “Honouring the great men who were ignored by the previous governments is our responsibility. We could never forget Chitaura in Bahraich. That is the place where Maharaja Suheldev eliminated invaders,” he said, congratulating the Adityanath government for its decision to build a grand memorial to the king.

PM Modi also said that his government is working towards developing Purvanchal as a medical hub.

“A government medical college for which the foundation was laid today is an important step in this direction. Health facilities worth thousands of crore are coming up in eastern UP,” he said.

“We are making efforts to extend the benefit of Ayushman Bharat to maximum number of people. This scheme ensures free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh. Within 100 days, six lakh people have got benefit of the scheme across the country,” said the PM.

“When Janhit (people’s interest) is kept above swahit (self-interest), such great things happen,” he said.