PM promises package for farmers

While Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi today flagged issues relating to farmers and the poor, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh promised a new package of measures for the benefit of farmers. At the All India Congress Committee (AICC) meet, Singh said, "In the coming weeks, we plan to take further steps to improve the condition of farmers."

The PM also mentioned that after a gap of many years, the growth rate in agriculture had averaged 4 per cent per annum.

He said: "I am confident that if our agriculture sector continues to maintain the same rate of growth, we will be able to see a revolutionary change in our rural areas."

Sympathising with the common man's plight on price rise, the PM today said that the increased agri-output will bring some relief. However, he also wanted the partymen to understand that the control over the prices was not entirely in the hands of the government.

"We must keep in mind that global prices of basic food commodities have seen a rapid rise for a variety of factors. We do not have control over these factors." The PM also mentioned that to ensure food security to the poor and needy, the anganwadi and Antodaya Anna yojna programmes had been expanded while the PDS system would be improved "in the near future". On the issue of the global oil price hike, the AICC today made it clear that the government will not increase domestic prices immediately. The resolution said, "Explore and exhaust all options before passing on any additional price burden to consumers."

After negotiating temporary peace and major concession from the Left, the top Congress leadership today again pitched for the necessity of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal at the AICC session. Strongly defending the agreement, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that the propaganda that the deal would affect India's strategic nuclear programme is "totally false".

Taking a dig at the Left the PM said, "the argument that the deal is going to affect our judgement and independent foreign policy is equally false."

Congress president Sonia Gandhi too raised her voice in favour of the deal while the AICC passed a resolution welcoming nuclear co-operation agreement with US. Gandhi recalled the legacy of the party to assure that sovereignty will not be compromised. "From the time of Jawaharlal Nehru we maintain a policy of self-dependence. But getting international cooperation on our terms is also a part of this self-dependence. We will get raw materials and technology from this deal. The PM has assured many times that our key requirement - power- will get a boost."

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, favouring the deal, said: "Countries which are called super powers don't come from heaven. They are super powers because they have superior technology. We have been denied advance technology in the most unjustified way in the past."