PUNE: Criticising the
central government
over farmers' issues, NCP chief
Sharad Pawar
said on Saturday that India was heavily dependent on farming but the country did not have a full-time agriculture
minister
, reports Anurag Bende.
"How will this country run," he wondered in his speech at the concluding rally of the MVA's 'Jan Akrosh Rally' outside the Pune district's collector office.
Other MVA politicians, including former cabinet minister from Congress Balasaheb Thorat, MPs Sanjay Raut [Shiv Sena (UBT)], Supriya Sule and Amol Kolhe [both from NCP (Sharad Pawar)], also criticised the central government over farmers' issues.
Pawar said when he became
agriculture
minister in the UPA government, he and then PM Manmohan Singh had flown to Vidarbha to meet the families of farmers who had died by suicide at that time. "We tried to reduce the burden of farmers by waiving Rs 72,000 crore in farm loans...Within three years, the agriculture production of the country improved. Today, again, farmers are dying by suicide. But the present government is not bothered about it," he said.
English (US) ·