Congress family has always been anti-farmer, says Virendra Singh

New Delhi: After Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi attacked the Modi government and the BJP over farmers’ issues, ruling party’s Kisan Morcha’s head Virendra Singh on Tuesday reminded the Congress scion of his “potato factory” remarks and claimed that Nehru-Gandhi “khandan (family)” had always been “anti-farmers”.

The BJP MP from Bhadohi announced that a “Kisan Morcha Sena”, mainly constituting of saffron party leaders and workers, will spread out in poll-bound Gujarat from November 20 to highlight initiatives tak-en by the Modi government for farmers and the farming sector and also highlight how the Cong-ress family had always been a “khandani kisan virodhi (anti-farmer)”. During this campaign, the BJP leaders will also highlight Congress’ “anti-Gujarati track record”.

On a day when India was celebrating the birth anniversary of first Prime Minister of the country Jawaharlal Nehru, Mr Singh did not spare him as he quoted an incident to prove how the Nehru-Gandhi “khand-an” had been “anti-farmers” and “anti-Gujarati”.

The BJP MP claimed that when Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was helping the farmers community and leading the “Bardoli Satyagrah”, Mr Gandhi’s grandfather (Pt Nehru) was “penning love letters to Lady (Edwina) Mountbatten”.

“I am not saying it, the history has it all recorded,” stressed the BJP MP.

Slamming Mr Gandhi, the BJP leader said “issues related to farmers and farming are like picnic for him (Mr Gandhi).”

“Rahul Gandhi is ancestrally anti-farmer. What will he (Mr Gandhi) talk about farmers and farming as he cannot tell the difference between plants of jowar and bajra,” said Mr Singh, adding that under the BJP government, budget for agriculture and rural development was raised to over 42 per cent of total allocations.

To stress on his remark that the Congress has “always insulted leaders from Gujarat”, Mr Singh recounted “sufferings” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was the state chief minister.