Tomar accuses UPA for farmers plight, suicides

BJP Kissan Morcha National President, Vijay Paul Singh Tomar and other leaders at a press conference at Jammu on Wednesday. —Excelsior/Rakesh
BJP Kissan Morcha National President, Vijay Paul Singh Tomar and other leaders at a press conference at Jammu on Wednesday. —Excelsior/Rakesh

*Highlights schemes of Modi Govt
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 18: Accusing the previous UPA Government in general and Congress in particular for plight of the farmers in the country, BJP Kissan Morcha national president, Vijay Paul Singh Tomar said the Party was shedding crocodile tears on problems faced by farming community throughout the country.
“Congress which ruled the State for decades together has been never sincere towards the farmers and had it been so they (farmers) would have not been committing suicides at present”, Tomar told reporters here today.
Accusing opposition of leveling false allegation on Modi Government and holding it responsible for farmers plight, he said had the Congress taken the steps and initiated those policies and programmes which were initiated by Modi Government for the welfare and upliftment of farmers during its rule, they would not have been forced to migrate from rural areas to urban areas after abandoning farming.
He said previous UPA Government was responsible for the problems of farmers all over the country as no concrete policy was framed by it for their overall benefit. The initiative of joining the rivers to save the country from flash floods and also provide irrigation facilities in the drought hit areas by previous NDA Government led by Atal Behari Vajpayee was abandoned by the UPA Government after coming to power in 2004, he added.
He said the number of farmers who constituted 80 percent of the total population earlier had now reduced to 62 percent due to wrong policies of Congress during its rule.
Maintaining that the farmers are the back bone of country’s economy he said nation can’t be strong and progress if the farmers are ignored. He said keeping the interests of farmers in view Modi Government increased budget in every field and to boost agriculture a separate budget has been kept, he added.
Highlighting the various pro farming community policies and programmes of Modi Government Tomar said many decisions were taken with an objective to provide early and maximum compensation of crop losses suffered by farmers due to natural calamites.
To improve the living standard of farmers many steps were taken which included Deen Dayal Upadhayay Vidyut Yojna, PM’s Fasal Bhima Yojna, Kissan Credit Card,  drive to dig new ponds and tube wells, construction of tube wells in villages and electricity to every village by 2018.
Kissan Morcha State president, Rajinder Singh Chib, Vice president, Pavinder Gupta its general secretaries Capt (retd) Kasturi Lal Sharma and Sunil Dutt Sharma were present in the press conference.