A day after Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy refuted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s jibe on the state’s farm loan waiver scheme where he called it a ‘cruel joke’, former CM Siddaramaiah on Monday hit out against PM Modi.
Speaking in Mysuru, Siddaramaiah called the PM “anti-farmer” and said, "I had twice led delegations (to Modi) as a chief minister, he did not give a single rupee. What moral right does he have?”
"Ok we have given lollipop, what pop has he given? What has he given?” Siddaramaiah asked. He further asked about the action taken by state governments in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya on the issue, all of which were recently ruled by the BJP.
Siddaramaiah’s comments come a day after Kumaraswamy termed Modi’s remarks to be “factually incorrect, insensitive and very unfortunate” and accused the PM of gaining political mileage with incorrect statements.
The Chief Minister’s Office released a statement along with a 12-point update mentioning that Rs 350 crore has been already paid to about 60,000 farmers electronically into their individual accounts, and another one lakh farmers will get around Rs 400 crore in the next week. He also claimed that the state’s scheme, unlike others, was an open book with every detail available online.
This was a reply to PM Modi’s speech at a rally in Ghazipur on Saturday and during a video conference with BJP booth workers from Belagavi, Bidar, Davangere, Dharwad and Haveri on Friday.
Modi on Friday had said, "What they have done in the name of loan waiver for the farmers will go down in history as one of the most cruel jokes on farmers. After six months in power, reports say the government could only benefit a handful of farmers with the loan waiver scheme. These people go around the country, claim credit for what they have done for the farmers. Will they also take credit for the farmers committing suicide?"
And on Saturday, Modi termed the coalition government a “lollipop company” on the issue of farm loan waiver.
“Even in Karnataka, Congress made a backstage entry and established a government there. They gave lollipops to people in terms of assurances, and promised loan waiver but only 800 people got their loan waived. How can you trust these lollipop companies?” he had said.