Tag: Punjab and Haryana High Court

An exasperated Modi told this writer: Tell me if a Congress leader has visited a farm in the past 10 years. Were there no farming calamities then? The Congress lured farmers away from the BJP by promising to waive their loans if they came to power. While the sop may bring some relief to 100 million small farmers, the overriding feeling is that it was too little too late. It also ignored the 140 million agricultural labourers. When it came to agriculture, the Modi government made the same mistake many previous governments did. While the Modi government did make an effort in this direction, it fell far short. Whether the cash promised is sufficient to push them to vote for the BJP is doubtful. The sop would provide relief of a maximum of Rs 12,500 a year. As with farmers, even with jobs, perception matters and the government can ignore it only at its own peril.