Congress should not shed crocodile tears for farmers': Arun Jaitley

Responding to Rahul Gandhi's jibe, in which he accused the government of insulting the farmers, union minister Arun Jaitley said income support for farmers like the one announced today, can go a long way in helping them.

Citing numbers, Jaitley said, the decision to introduce income support for farmers will cost the government around Rs 75,000 crores in the first year itself. He also underplayed the concept of loan waivers, saying it will not be beneficial in the long run.

Speaking on the scheme for the unorganised sector in which workers will get Rs 3,000 after retirement, Jaitley said, adequate social security and pension mechanism are signs of a developed society.


Jaitley also recounted various programmes and schemes announced by the NDA government during their tenure.

Completely refuting the NSSO report that said unemployment was at 45-year post demonetisation, he said NSSO jobs data is not a report, it's draft which has not been approved.