Land bill row: Rajnath Singh slams Rahul Gandhi for 'misleading' farmers

CHANDAULI: Senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh today slammed Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for "misleading" peasants at the Kisan Maha rally and made an appeal to the community to not get misguided by rumours spread against NDA government's land acquisition ordinance and other policies.

Addressing a Kisan Mahapanchayat in his native district here, the Home Minister said, "Rahul Gandhi (or Sonia Gandhi and his Congress party) holding a Kisan Maha rally will not help them in misleading farmers against the land acquisition policy."

"Modi-led NDA government is committed for improving the lives of the farmers, who have become hopeless because of the Congress rule and its faulty policies," he said.

In his over 30 minutes speech, speaking mostly in Bhojpuri, Singh said his government was making all efforts to save farmers from taking extreme steps like committing suicide for which the NDA government was framing up new policies which would completely be farmer friendly.

The Union Minister, while addressing farmers, appealed them they should not get mislead from the rumours that were being spread about his NDA government's land ordinance and other policies.

"I was born here, I am a son of a farmer and very well understand the plight of farmers as I myself has been one among them, before moving to this high post," he said.

"Our government has changed the assessment of crop loss from the previous 50 per cent to 33 per cent, so now farmers who have suffered a crop loss of 33 per cent will be eligible for the crop compensation," he said.

Highlighting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's seriousness in bringing an improvement in the lives of farmers, Singh said: "When Modi was leaving for his foreign tour, the same night he called me on my phone and asked to send the proposal for his signature so that this new norm of 33 per cent from 50 per cent may come into effect from the very next day, before he leaves the country and our farmers may not have to suffer anymore."

He also said he will speak on the irrigation problems and other issues in Chandauli, and instructed district officials to access the crop loss properly for availing compensation.