Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani attacked the Congress for supporting Tuesday’s ‘Bharat bandh’ against the Centre’s new farm laws by asking its leader Rahul Gandhi if he knew the difference between coriander and fenugreek.
The Congress has taken the lead in the protests called nationwide by farm outfits who claim three new agri-marketing laws introduced by the Centre are aimed at allowing corporates to take over the agriculture sector at the expense of cultivators.
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Addressing a public function in Mehsana, some 75km from Ahmedabad, Mr. Rupani said Mr. Gandhi and his party were indulging in politics by opposing the same set of reforms they had once advocated.
“I want to ask Rahul Gandhi if he knows the difference between coriander and fenugreek,” Mr. Rupani, who was in Mehsana to lay the foundation stones of Narmada canal-based drinking water supply projects worth ₹287 crore, said.
“In its 2019 election manifesto, the Congress had said it would bring changes in the APMC [Agricultural Produce Market Committee] Act if voted to power and give farmers the freedom to sell their produce outside these markets. Now, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi brings in these reforms, why is the Congress opposing it,” the CM questioned.
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“Rahul Gandhi once called a meeting of Congress Chief Ministers and asked them to delist vegetables and fruits from APMC to bring down prices. Now, when we are doing the same to empower farmers, the Congress is opposing it. The people want an answer as to why the party is taking such a stand,” Mr. Rupani further said.
