Modi govt bigger trader than East India company: Congress

New Delhi, Dec 18: Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi flayed the opposition for supporting farmers to oppose the three new central agricultural laws, claiming that the rival parties were using the shoulders of farmers to attack his government, the Congress hit back saying the BJP government has now become a much bigger trader than the East India Company. The Congress also slammed the government saying that the Prime Minister himself had declared that a law on the minimum support price (MSP) needs to be implemented, then why doesn't he listen to himself. Addressing a press conference here, Congress national spokesperson and media in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala said, "The Prime Minister chose to speak to the farmers in Madhya Pradesh by ignoring the farmers sitting on the borders of Delhi for the last 23 days braving the severe cold weather." He said, "The Modi government has now become much bigger trader than East India Company which wants to give the hard-earned produce of farmers to few corporates. The government should stop deceiving the farmers." Charging the government, Surjewala said that from the time this government came to power, it has deposed all government resources before big corporates and sidelined the farmers. Slamming the government, he said that the Prime Minister wants to cover the ill effects of the three anti-farm laws with propaganda and false advertisements. This is not the first time that this government has attacked the farmers. He cited six examples of the anti-farmer policies of the government since 2014. Surjewala claimed that 47 mandis have closed down in Madhya Pradesh ever since the new farm laws came into force. Targeting the Prime MInister, the Congress leader said, "Modiji himself had declared that a law on the MSP needs to be implemented. Then why doesn't the Prime Minister listen to himself." He also said that after the three farm laws the farmers are now forced to sell their crops below the MSP in several states. Surjewala also urged the Prime Minister and his party leaders to stop describing the farmers as terrorists, members of the tukde-tukde gang etc and said that they should immediately apologise to farmers and repeal the three farm laws. Earlier in the day, while addressing the 'Kisan Mahasammelan' in Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh virtually, Modi said that opposition parties were playing games to regain lost political ground by creating a web of confusion and lies. "I wish to tell all political parties that they can keep political credit. I don't want credit. I only want the lives of Indian farmers to be easy, want their prosperity, and modernity in farming. Stop misleading them, stop confusing them," Modi remarked. Taking a dig at the opposition without naming any party, the Prime Minister said that he felt that they were pained not by the improvements brought about in the agricultural laws by his government but by the fact that Modi had been able to do what they had been saying all these years but could not do. Modi also listed the advantages of the new agricultural laws enacted in September. (IANS)