'Remember when PM called them andolanjeevi?': Kharge slams Modi govt for breaking promises made to farmers

New Delhi: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge accused the Modi government on Tuesday of silencing the voices of farmers after failing to fulfill promises made to them over the past decade.

Kharge's criticism of the government comes when thousands of farmers have called for a 'Delhi Chalo' protest, resulting in the capital being fortified, with authorities preventing their entry into the city.

"In place are barbed wire, tear gas from drones, nails, and guns... The dictatorial Modi government seeks to suppress the voices of farmers," stated the Congress chief in a post on X.

"Remember how farmers were defamed by the prime minister, who called them 'andolanjeevi' and 'parasites', and 750 farmers lost their lives," Kharge wrote in his post in Hindi.

Kharge said that over the past decade, the Modi government has failed to deliver on three crucial promises made to the nation's food providers. These promises included doubling farmers' income by 2022, implementing input costs plus 50 per cent in accordance with the Swaminathan report, and granting legal status to Minimum Support Price (MSP).

Expressing full support for the farmers' movement, Kharge announced that the Congress would raise the issue of justice for farmers at an event today in Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh.

"We are not afraid, we will not bow down," Kharge said in his post.