Addressing 'Atal Kisan Mahapanchayat' (mega-gathering of farmers) organised by BJP here, Gadkari said BJP government in Madhya Pradesh had already decided to give zero-interest loans to farmers, with (retrospective) effect from April 1 this year, and "I do not see any reason why this cannot be emulated at the Centre if the NDA comes to power."
Terming the UPA government as "enemy of farmers", he said it was incapable of taking any pro-farmers decision.
Gadkari praised Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for the fact that state had clocked 18 per cent growth in agriculture, saying it was unparallelled in the country.
Under Chouhan's leadership, the state was shedding its 'BIMARU' tag, he said.
The purpose of Mahapanchayat was to felicitate the chief minister for his decision to give zero-interest loans to farmers, and to ask the Centre to roll back the hike in fertiliser prices, Gadkari said.
Speaking on this occasion, Chouhan too criticised the hike in fertiliser prices. If the hike was not reversed, BJP would intensify its agitation, he said.
Apart from Gadkari, party general secretary Ananth Kumar, former BJP president Rajnath Singh, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and general secretaries Narendra Singh Tomar and Thawar Chand Gehlot were present. (More)
