Modi giving farmers Rs 3.50 a day, but waiving Rs 3.5 lakh crore loans of industrialists: Rahul

Congress president Rahul Gandhi Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of making fun of poor farmers by doling out only Rs 3.50 a day while waving loans worth Rs 3.5 lakh crore of industrialists.

Coming down heavily on the prime minister, the Congress chief said the PM-KISAN scheme launched by the Centre is nothing but an attempt to make mockery of poor farmers by doling out a paltry sum of Rs 6,000 annually.

Gandhi was addressing a well-attended Congress rally at this south Odisha town in tribal-dominated Koraput district, where the engine unit of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) is located, ahead of the upcoming election for the state Assembly as well as the Lok Sabha.

Though the Modi government refused to waive farm loans and raise the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for paddy, it readily wrote off loans to the tune of Rs 3.5 lakh crore owed by a handful of 15-20 industrialists, he claimed.

Sharpening his attack over the Rafale deal, Gandhi alleged that reports in an English daily stated that the prime minister himself prepared a new contract in the fighter jet deal and held parallel negotiations.

"This is the truth," he said and alleged that France was told to give the job contract to Anil Ambani and not to HAL.

UPA government had decided to purchase 126 Rafale jets for Rs 526 crore, but the BJP-led government went for less number of aircraft at a high price of Rs 1,600 crore in order to "dole out Rs 30,000 crore to Ambani," he said.

"The prime minister makes tall claims about patriotism on one hand, but takes Rs 30,000 crore from IAF and hands over to Anil Ambani," Gandhi alleged.

Taking on the Naveen Patnaik government in the state, Gandhi said it was being run by four to five bureaucrats.

He promised financial assistance for marriage of poor women in the state and a widow pension of Rs 2,000 per month, if the Congress is voted to power in Odisha.