Congress' policies responsible for agricultural crisis: Sampla

Union Minister Vijay Sampla today blamed the policies of previous Congress governments for the "agricultural crisis" in the country and said the BJP government is working on a far-sighted policy for the sector.

"The policies of the successive Congress governments during the past seven decades are responsible for the agricultural crisis in the country," he said.

"The Congress leaders could have discussed this important issue during the Winter Session of Parliament, but they instead chose otherwise and disrupted the House proceedings. Now in the wake of the upcoming assembly elections, they realised their mistake and showed up in front of the Prime Minister," the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment said.
 

Sampla, the Punjab unit president of BJP, said the people of the poll-bound state are fully aware of the politics played by the Congress over agricultural issues.

He said the farmers of Punjab have not forgotten the "step-motherly" treatment meted out to them by the Manmohan Singh government in 2008.

"Not even a single paisa reached the farmers of Punjab when he announced the Rs 70,000 crore debt waiver for the farmers of the nation," he claimed, adding Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh and the party's then leadership had failed to come to the rescue of farmers.

Sampla said the way out of this agricultural crisis is a far-sighted policy, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government at the Centre is continuously working upon.

"The present government allotted Rs 35,984 crore for the agriculture sector this financial. This is the largest sum ever allotted for the agri-sector by any central government since Independence," he said.

With the improvement of irrigation facilities and policies like the crop insurance scheme, new targets have been set to enhance and create new sources of income for the farmers, he said.

"A farmer-friendly environment is being created so that the farmers spend less on chemical fertilisers, thereby increasing their earning. These initiatives of the central government will soon bear fruit," Sampla added .