"I want to make it clear that I never made such a statement," the Minister said as he rose to make a personal explanation on the issue.
In his speech on Monday, Gandhi had said members of some NGO had informed him that Gadkari had told farmers that they should not depend on god and government, as the Congress leader attacked the Modi government for ignoring the plight of farmers suffering from unseasonal rains and hailstorm.
Gadkari said he had made a speech in Maharashtra saying that farmers continued to suffer but they should not be frustrated. "They should not only depend on god or government but work to improve farm production by using new methods," he quoted from his speech, refuting Gandhi's claim.
Gandhi claimed that he was praising him, to which Gadkari retorted that had he made such a statement, he would not be scared in accepting it. But he never said so.
