Modi lists out Centre's pro-farmer steps in Sonipat; attacks Cong on quota

Addressing a public meeting in Haryana’s Gohana on Wednesday, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi highlighted the Centre’s recent “pro-farmer” decisions of removing minimum export price on basmati, which he said would benefit paddy growers.

He said the Centre also hiked customs duties on the import of edible oils, to benefit farmers.

Along with Punjab, Haryana has been the hub of farmers’ protests in 2020, and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has sought to assuage the anger among them in the run-up to the Assembly polls on October 5.

Modi said the BJP in Haryana has promised in its manifesto that it would buy 24 crops at a minimum support price (MSP).

"When the Congress was in power, it hated buying crops at MSP," he said.

The PM asked the electorate of the state to be wary of the Congress since the party, if it were to win, would provide an unstable government because of its "infighting", which would threaten investments into the state.

He targeted the Congress on the issue of corruption and alleged that the party failed to deliver on its promises in Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh.

Alluding to the alleged infighting in the Congress’ Haryana unit between its Lok Sabha member and prominent Dalit leader Kumari Selja and former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Modi accused the Congress of having discriminated against Dalits.

Former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar invited Selja to join the BJP but she dismissed any possible switch, saying, "I am a Congressperson, I will remain a Congressperson."

In his speech, the PM said, “Hatred towards reservation is in the Congress party's DNA, which is why today we are seeing that the fourth generation of the royal family of the Congress wants to remove reservation”.