Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, attacked the Narendra Modi-led government harshly on Thursday, claiming that the government is doing nothing to stop India's farmers from getting deeper and deeper in debt every day. He charged that Prime Minister Modi was concentrating on his own public relations campaigns while neglecting the agricultural crisis.
Gandhi referenced a distressing media report that 767 farmers in Maharashtra had committed suicide in just three months in a post on the social media site X (formerly Twitter). Imagine that 767 farmers in Maharashtra have committed suicide in just three months. Is this merely a figure? No. There are 767 broken houses here. 767 families will never get better. What about the government? Silent. He wrote, "Watching with indifference."
Gandhi drew attention to the increasing cost of necessary inputs, highlighting the mounting financial burden on farmers. Diesel, fertiliser, and seeds are all costly, but there is no assurance that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) will be met. He claimed that they are disregarded when they ask for loan waivers. Gandhi also claimed that the government continues to give favours to wealthy people while denying financial assistance to regular farmers. "How about those who have billions? The Modi government readily waives their loans. Take a look at today's news—Anil Ambani's ₹48,000 crore SBI "fraud," he continued.
Gandhi took aim at the Prime Minister's 2014 election pledge to double farmers' income, saying, "Today, the reality is that the lives of those who feed the nation are being cut in half. Modi ji promised to double farmers' income." While Modi ji is preoccupied with his own public relations show, this system is quietly but ruthlessly killing farmers.
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Gandhi also expressed concern on Wednesday about India's increasing reliance on China for agricultural supplies, especially speciality fertilisers, claiming that this constituted a major danger to the country's farmers, who are the foundation of the Indian economy.
80 per cent of India's speciality fertilisers are imported from China, he said, citing another media report, and Indian farmers are in dire straits as a result of the recent halt in Chinese supplies. Since India is an agrarian nation, the farmer serves as the foundation of our economy. However, the weight of foreign reliance is causing that very backbone to bend today," he stated.
Gandhi pointed out that farmers were already experiencing shortages of basic fertilisers like urea and DAP, and that the inclusion of speciality fertilisers on the list has only made the situation worse. It's not the first time. He cautioned, "A new 'Chinese crisis' looms over speciality fertilisers, while farmers nationwide continue to struggle with shortages of essential fertilisers.
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"On one hand, the Prime Minister is busy printing his photos on fertiliser sacks, while on the other hand, our farmers are becoming increasingly dependent on 'Made in China,'" he said, mocking the Prime Minister's publicity efforts. Gandhi accused the government of ignoring domestic fertiliser production and blamed it for not acting in spite of numerous warnings. "The government made no preparations even though they knew that this supply could be interrupted at any time. He said, "They made no policy, no plan, when the need of the hour was to promote domestic production."
Gandhi questioned the future of Indian agriculture under the current government as he wrapped up his remarks. Will the Indian farmer now be powerless even in his own country? Invoking the slogan of the ruling party, he said, "Kiska Sath, Kiska Vikas?" as the farmer, drowning in debt and despair, asks as valuable time and healthy crops are lost.
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