Rahul Gandhi slams Modi govt over Amethi food park issue

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday slammed the Modi government on the farmers’ issue and said that the PM had backtracked on his promise to engage in politics of change in Amethi. [caption id=“attachment_2232536” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Rahul Gandhi slammed the Modi government over farmers’ issues in Lok Sabha.[/caption] In the Lok Sabha, Rahul said that during his interaction with a farmer in Amethi, the farmer asked him why a bag of chips, which used only one potato, cost Rs 10 whereas 1 kg of potatoes sold by him cost Rs 2. “Yeh kaisa jaadu hai? (What kind of magic is this?)” Rahul said in the Lok Sabha. After his statement created an uproar in the House, the Congress vice-president jokingly said, “Main suit ki baat nahin, aalu ki baat kar raha hoon (I’m not talking about some suit, I’m talking about potatoes).” Saying that this problem farmers faced could be solved with the establishment of a food park in Amethi where the farmer could directly sell his produce, Rahul added, “Prime Minister Modi had said in Amethi that he had come to bring about politics of change, not politics of revenge…It is sad that he went back on his promise.” Home Minister Rajnath Singh responded to Rahul Gandhi’s remarks and said that even he came from a farmer’s background, adding that Rahul Gandhi knew little about farming. “Rahul Gandhi just said that an entity initially sold at Rs 2 is later bought at Rs 10. He knows little about farming,” said Rajnath Singh. In response to Rahul’s ‘jaadu’ remark, Rajnath Singh said, “Yeh jaadu humne nahi kiya. Yeh jaadu aapki sarkar ne kiya hai (This ‘magic’ wasn’t started by our government. It was started by yout government).” Concluding his address, the Home Minister said that it is not possible for the government to function if the Opposition does not cooperate positively. On the matter of the Amethi food park, Rajnath said that he will personally look into the issue and get back to Rahul. Rahul Gandhi also attacked the government outside the Parliament. “Rajnath Singh said he’ll look into it (Amethi food park issue). But there is nothing to look into. The government has to restart the project. Either they will revive the project or kill it,” he said. “Farmers benefit from this project. Politicians’ words should carry some weight. It should not be a means to garner votes. Silently, the food park project was killed. This is bad for the credibility of the Prime Minister,” Rahul said. In a short response, Rajnath told reporters outside the Parliament, “There is no question of doing politics of revenge. and I have said what I had to say inside the Lok Sabha.”