Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole.
Credit: PTI Photo
In a stinging attack on the Narendra Modi-government at the Centre and the Eknath Shinde-led dispensation in Maharashtra, the Congress accused the BJP of committing the sin of snatching food from the plates of the poor.
“The BJP governments at the Centre and in the states are anti-poor and also work against the interest of the common people,” Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee President Nana Patole said during the 'Jansamvad Yatra’.
“When the Congress government was in power, ration included wheat, rice, lentils, dalda, oil, and sugar, but in the BJP-led states, even grains aren't available in rationing shops. The central government claims there are no poor people in the country,” said Patole, a former Assembly Speaker.
"The Modi-government gave Ujjwala gas to poor families and stopped the distribution of kerosene. According to the government, those who have a gas cylinder at home are not poor, and these people have been deprived of dal, oil, sugar, and rice available at ration stores. By discontinuing rationed grains, the BJP government has committed the sin of snatching food from the plates of the poor,” he said in Sakoli in Bhandara district.
“The BJP is anti-farmer, anti-trader, and anti-poor. When a farmer grows pulses, there's no price for those, and when the same pulses reach Adani's warehouse, they become Rs 170 per kilo. Whenever you buy any item from the shop, you have to pay GST on it. The Hitler-like autocratic state (BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP) government disconnects the electricity line if the farmers don't pay the bill,” he said.
"Farmers have not yet received subsidies for summer paddy. Rule says that the government has to pay within eight days, but the government hasn't settled the farmers' dues for three to four months now. What's the use if the farmers don't get the money when they need it most? The cost of fertilizers has doubled, and the weight of the fertilizer bags has been reduced from 50 kilos to 45 kilos,” Patole pointed out.
"If one needs to buy a tractor for farming, they will have to pay 18 per cent GST on it, while if buying a car, only 12 per cent GST is applied,” he added.