Rahul slams PM on Rafale; says cash support to farmers paltry

Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi said Friday that the 'minimum income guarantee' which his party is promising would not be like Narendra Modi government's Kisan Saman Nidhi scheme, under which farmers will get only "Rs 17 per day".

Addressing a 'Kisan Aabhar Sammelan' (thanksgiving rally) here, Gandhi also alleged that the Prime Minister's Office was directly involved in conducting negotiations with the French side for Rafale fighter jets and this had weakened the Ministry of Defence's (MoD) negotiations on the same deal.

"This is historic. No other country has done this. India is going to be the first country to do this. The Congress (if elected to power) will give a minimum income guarantee to the poor," he said.

"We are not going to insult you by giving Rs 17 per day," Gandhi said, pooh-poohing the Centre's recent budget announcement of Rs 6,000 per year cash support for farmers under the Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme.

"When we (Congress governments) decided to waive farm loan in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan within ten days (of coming to power), Narendra Modi got scared. (One can) Get any work done by Narendra Modi by frightening him.

"Modi (in the Lok Sabha) said that he also works for farmers....BJP MPs thumped the table for five minutes. I was surprised, asking what happened. Then we came to know that they have decided to give Rs 17 per day to farmers," he said.

"On one hand, the Modi government wrote off Rs 3.50 lakh crore debt of top 15 rich people, but gives a paltry Rs 17 per day, which means Rs 3.50 per person per day, to farmers.

"Clap, clap, what a wonderful job," the Congress chief said, mocking the Modi government's announcement.

Reiterating his allegations on the Rafale deal, Gandhi said, "You must have read it in the newspapers this morning that the Defence Ministry officials said that Narendra Modi was directly involved in Rafale deal with France, without their knowledge."