Farmers Movement Archive

FM Sitharaman poses 10 questions to counter Congress attack on Budget

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday that Rahul Gandhi was becoming a “doomsday man” for India by creating fake narratives on various issues, as she hit back at the Congress leader’s “hum do, humare do” jibe that questioned the government’s intent behind three farm laws, and posed a 10-point questionnaire-cum-rebuttal on farmer’s welfare.After responding to various issues raised by members of Parliament in the Lok Sabha during a debate on the Union Budget over two days, Sitharaman asked Gandhi why the Congress took a U-turn on farm reforms after it proposed a similar move during the 2019 general elections.“Shri Rahul Gandhi, when he stood up [in Lok Sabha on Thursday]... when the foundation was being laid [by him] for the [reply to the] Budget speech, which never happened... I want to ask, and I also share my expectations... Why the Congress party had taken a U-turn in its position [on farm reforms]... [mentioned in its] 2019 election manifesto…,” the finance minister said.“We need to recognise these two tendencies of the Congress party. One is creating fake narratives and second, lack of belief in a democratically elected Parliamentary system,” she said.Also Read | Cong MP moves motion against FM for calling Rahul Gandhi 'doomsday man of India'Gandhi said on Thursday that the three new farm laws would allow corporates to buy unlimited quantity of food grains for profiteering, kill the ‘mandi’ system, remove the Essential Commodity Act (ECA) leading to hoarding, and deny judicial remedies to farmers against corporate buyers of their farm produce. “These laws will destroy India’s food security system and will hurt rural economy,” he said.The “hum do, humare do” expression was used by Gandhi to say that only four people were ruling this country including two business houses.Speaking in the House, Sitharaman said she was posing 10 questions to the Congress, which the party would have to answer in the due course. She sought an answer from the opposition party over its “U-turn” on the farm legislation, which she said it supported earlier.Her second question was related to the Congress’s electoral promise of farm loan waivers in states such as Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. “Karza maafi Rajasthan men nahi hua, Madhya Pradesh men nahi hua... Chhattisgarh men bhi wo karza maafi nahi hua,” she said.Sitharaman’s third point was an expectation from Gandhi that he would “order” the Punjab chief minister not to implement the “kala kaanun” [the three farm laws]. “I thought, he would reveal this in the House,” she said.“When Rahul Gandhiji was talking about the farm laws at that time I expected that he would say that farmers have problems related to ‘parali’ [stubble] and the Congress government in Punjab will give some relief to them. But, that didn’t happen,” she said.She asked Gandhi for at least one clause of the three farm laws that would demonstrate that farmers’ interest would be hurt. “[Congress] participated in the voting [of the Bills in the Parliament], gave [its] support, and then changed its mind...,” she added.Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reply to the motion of thanks on the President’s speech that enumerated several measures for small farmers, Sitharaman said: “I thought he would stand and say, ‘Pradhan Mantriji’ you have spoken several good things about small farmers, I will ask my friends to return lands to the farmer... because we took land cheap from them... We are in politics, therefore, my family and I have to take a stand on this matter and return the land.”“He could have said here, ‘hum do, humare do’ mein main damaad [son-in-law] ko aadesh karke aaya hun ki zamin waapas karo... But that did not happen,” she said.She also referred to PM Modi’s reply to the President’s address, wherein he quoted former PM Manmohan Singh that he also supported such farm reforms. “I thought, he [Gandhi] would say [something about]... forgetting the statement of Dr Manmohan Singh.... I thought he would say we will not dishonour Dr Manmohan Singh,” she said.“While debating on Budget... several members raised the question whether any APMC [Agricultural Produce Market Committee] has been closed after the three [farm] laws were enacted? They are not closed anywhere... Prove even if one APMC mandi is shut?”“Why does he choose to insult constitutional authorities?” the finance minister said.Sitharaman also alleged that the Congress was creating “continuously fake narratives” even as the country was fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. On Friday, while speaking in the Rajya Sabha, she attacked former finance minister P Chidambaram on the same issue. “False narratives were created... There is a lot of grudge in the speech of the former finance minister [referring to Congress leader P Chidambaram]... not to recognise how honourable Prime Minister handled the Corona crisis,” she said in the House on Friday.Without giving any specific instance, Sitharaman alleged that Gandhi never believed in the Indian government but preferred to rely on outsiders, did “politics with a fringe group” and indulged in “bhayankar [frightful] abuse... total unacceptable terminology for constitutionally elected heads.”She said Gandhi indulge in “destructive” politics. “I’m very scared... probably he is becoming a ‘doomsday man’ for India,” she said.Congress MP TN Prathapan later moved a notice for privilege motion against Sitharaman on her “doomsday man” remark. “Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitaraman abused Rahul Gandhi as ‘Doomsday man of India’, accused that Rahul Gandhi, an elected member in the house, has joined with fringe element groups and that he is demeaning the country. This is an utter breach of privilege,” the notice said.Speaking about Budget 2021-22 earlier on Saturday, Sitharaman said the focus of the exercise was “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” (a self-reliant India) and it was in sync with several stimulus packages and reforms announced during the lockdown period to revive the economy. On February 1, she presented Budget 2021-22 that focused on capital investments in areas such as health care, agriculture, defence, water and sanitation.The finance minister said the government was committed to providing full monetary support to the rural jobs guarantee scheme under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in 2021-22. The Union Budget has estimated about a ₹73,000-crore fund for the scheme, but like previous years, more funds will be made available to the scheme as many migrant workers who returned home because of the Covid-19 pandemic are likely to stay back in their villages.Nilaya Varma, CEO and co-founder of consultancy firm Primus Partners, said: “The Union Budget 2021 does both, as it focuses on increased capital expenditure and provides ample opportunity for private sector participation. Developing robust infrastructure across segments including health care, agriculture, logistics, oil and gas will have a much-needed multiplier effect on the economy. Additionally, infrastructure development and manufacturing focus will drive sector-specific capacity building initiatives to employ the country’s youth gainfully.”Reacting on Nirmala Sitharaman’s speech, Adhir Chowdhury, Leader of Congress Party in Lok Sabha, said: “How does she explain that the lockdown made India’s billionaires 35% richer, while 84% of households support income suffered loss and 1.7 lakh people lost their jobs every hour in April, 2020 alone.”“How does she explain that income increase for India’s top 100 billionaires since March 2020? Finance Minister’s misplaced priorities include tax concession for corporates in financial year 2019-20 that amounted over ₹1.4 lakh crores. Instead of creating jobs, they used money for trimming up their balance sheets.”On a question about the comment made by Sitharaman on Gandhi’s ‘hum do, humare do’ slogan, Chowdhury said: “Immediately we stood up there and objected to the comments of the Finance Minister and even exhorted her that being a Finance Minister of India, she should not indulge in a such kind of unparliamentary activities inside the house.”

Hindustan Times

14-02-2021

India