Gadkari clarifies, but Rahul says he praised him

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday clarified his remarks made at a rally in Maharashtra, after Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi praised him during a speech in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

Stating in the Lok Sabhha that Rahul had "wrongly quoted me", Gadkari said: "I had said in Amravati that though farmers have a lot of trouble, they should not be depressed and commit suicide. They should instead use new technology to increase produce and should just not depend on God or government."

As Gadkari clarified, Gandhi, who got up immediately after him to speak on the net neutrality issue, said: "I was just praising you."

During his hard-hitting Lok Sabha speech on Monday on the plight of farmers under Narendra Modi's government, Rahul Gandhi took a dig at Gadkari, saying he was the only person in the ruling party who speaks his heart.

"He (Gadkari) had said farmers should not depend on God or the government," Gandhi said, adding it was "Dil ki baat, mann ki baat (talk from the heart)".