Water crisis, farmers' suicides are Congress' contributions: Govt.

Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA regime as 'pro-farmer government', Union Human Resource and Development (HRD) Minister Prakash Javadekar on Friday alleged that water crisis and farmers' suicide are contributions of the Congress Party.

Responding to a poser on Rahul Gandhi's accusation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi neglected the farmers of the country while helping the rich, Javadekar said that he would not like to comment on the charges levelled by a 'rejected' Congress vice-president.

"I do not comment on those who are defeated and frustrated people. Under Modi ji, there is a pro-farmer government and it is doing its work well," Javadekar told ANI.

"Water crisis and farmers' suicides are contributions of the Congress Party. We are rectifying these things and we are confident of getting success," he added.

Gandhi, who today met Tamil Nadu farmers protesting at Delhi's Jantar Mantar for over two weeks, said it is Prime Minister Modi's responsibility to listen to their problems and resolve them.

"The PM has given debt relief to richest people in the country, why not for the people who have built this country - the farmers," he said in an apparent reference to liquor baron Vijay Mallya.

Earlier, DMK MP Kanimozhi also met the protesting Tamil Nadu farmers.

"They are protesting for more than 18 days demanding loan waiver. Crops have dried and there is no water. Tamil Nadu has not seen such a drought. The Central Government has not responded so far. The farmers are not being assured from the Centre," Kanimozhi told the media here.

The farmers, who have been protesting in the national capital since March 21 with human skulls which they claim are of farmers who committed suicide, have been demanding that their loans from nationalised banks be forgiven, fair and just prices be set for their produce besides realistic solutions to address water scarcity in the state.