 "BJP mocks Rahul on promises for farmers")
The saffron party was also dismissive of the Congress vice president's pitch for loan-waivers for farmers, claiming that its governments worked to enhance their capability as it cited a Comptroller and auditor general (CAG) of India report to allege that a Rs 51,000-crore scam occurred during one such waiver during the UPA-I (United Progressive Alliance) government.
Taking a swipe at Gandhi, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi told a press conference that his baseless and ridiculous charges at the Modi government were an expression of his self-knowledge, claiming the plight of farmers was an indictment of the close to six decades of Congress governments in the country.
The fate of farmers was turned upside down during these times, he said, referring to controversial land deals involving Gandhi's brother-in-law Robert Vadra.
There is a fundamental difference between Congress and BJP over the issue of farmers, Trivedi said, adding that while the former believed in waiving their loans and providing them short-term employment, his party is committed to increasing their natural capabilities and strength.
BJP ruled-states relaxed conditions for giving loans to farmers by bringing down interest rate to zero in several cases and the Modi government has come out with schemes like crop insurance to protect them against any unforeseen farm, he said.
He also recalled the central government's tough stand in the World Trade Organization (WTO) talks in 2014 to save the interest of farmers to claim, "From the farms in villages to the global forum like WTO, the work of NDA (National Democratic Alliance)government under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for farmers and its commitment to them is unparallelled."
For a party which could not understand the pain of farmers during its 56 years in governance to make such claims now, is baseless and ridiculous, he said.
Trivedi alleged that farmers were exploited and lands were grabbed in states like Maharashtra, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand during the Congress governments, while BJP-ruled Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh saw a big jump in agricultural growth.
In Uttar Pradesh, people making illogical comments are asked in colloquial parlance if they had slept on a prickly cots, he said as he took a dig at Gandhi over his remarks made during the Congress party's "khaat sabha" (meeting over cots). "Had he slept on a prickly cot?" he asked in a lighter vein.
Congress in the state was contesting polls under a leader belonging to the era of Rahul Gandhi's father and with policies also belonging to the same times, he said, reacting to the choice of Sheila Dikshit (78) as its chief ministerial candidate.
He said both Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Ssamaj Party, which has been in the power in the state during the last 14 years, supported the UPA government and, therefore Congress cannot claim that it had no association with the state's governments.