In the Interim budget of the current fiscal year, the Modi government announced a major relief for the farmers of the country. Finance Minister Piyush Goyal announced the government’s decision to provide income support to the small and marginal farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM KISAN) scheme. This scheme would ensure a direct transfer of Rs 6,000 per year directly into the bank accounts of farmers owning less than two hectares of land. This assisted income would come as a huge relief for farmers facing the situation of distress. Goyal said, “Farmers earlier did not get full cost for their produce. Farmers income has reduced over the years. Income support to farmers small and marginal farmers Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM KISAN) has been approved. Famers having 2 hectares and less will be provided with Rs 6000 per annum directly into their accounts.” The amount will be directly transferred into the accounts of the farmers in three equal installments.
In an ideal world, the opposition should not have tried to politicise moves like this. However, the Congress and the opposition follow the strategy of criticising the government on every move even if there is nothing reprehensible about it. The Congress president made a naive attempt to corner the government on this issue. While addressing the press conference said that the government was insulting the peasants by giving them merely Rs. 17 per day. He tweeted,
Dear NoMo,
5 years of your incompetence and arrogance has destroyed the lives of our farmers.
Giving them Rs. 17 a day is an insult to everything they stand and work for. #AakhriJumlaBudget
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 1, 2019
This seems to have badly backfired for the Congress president. Even as Nupur Sharma, BJP spokesperson hit back at the Congress president stating that those who pay Rs. 13 to the peasants while waiving of loans to the tune of Rs. 2 lakh have no moral right to speak about the latest scheme.
Dear @RahulGandhi,
जो ग़रीब किसानों का 2 लाख कि जगह 13 रूपए का क़र्ज़ माफ़ करते हैं और बाक़ी पैसा हवा में कर देते हैं वो कम बोलें तो बहतर होगा।
आपने केवल अपने परिवार की ग़रीबी हटाई। मोदी जी अपने देश से ग़रीबी को हटा कर मानेंगे।#Budget2019 https://t.co/nN1aUD4QmI
— Nupur Sharma (@NupurSharmaBJP) February 1, 2019
Yet another twitter user pointed out how the Congress president has a problem with farmers being given merely Rs. 17 per day but not too long ago, his own people had argued that a full meal can be afforded for just Rs. 12. When the Planning Commission had underlined an abysmal poverty line during the UPA era, Congress leader, Raj Babbar had argued that it was possible to have “full meal for Rs. 12 in Mumbai”. Congress MP Rasheed Masood had gone even further and said that in Delhi’s Jama Masjid area, one could eat well for Rs. 5.
https://twitter.com/theskindoctor13/status/1091282875234832384?s=19
It is amply clear that Rahul Gandhi acts like a complete hypocrite when it comes to the issue of poverty and farm distress. As far as his claim that giving merely Rs. 17 per day is an insult to the farmers is concerned, it seems that Rahul Gandhi does not comprehend the fact that this is not going to be the actual income of the farmers. This is only in the nature of assisted income to the farmers in order to support them. Assisted income is not supposed to defray all the living expenses, it is only meant to alleviate their distress. The fact that Rahul Gandhi does not understand something as simplistic as this goes on to show that he lives in a world of his own. His inability to comprehend and understand such simple matters only decreases his reliability and explains why he is not at all equipped to even stand as a prime ministerial candidate, leave alone the question of leading the country.
