Prime Minister Narendra Modi today reportedly told Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi to keep meeting him regularly. Early on Friday, Rahul led a delegation of senior Congress leaders to PMO to discuss the farm loan waiver and a rise in minimum support price (MSP).
The PMO also released a photo of the meeting in which Rahul can be seen facing the PM. The Congress vice-president was accompanied by party leaders like Anand Sharma, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Raj Babbar, Capt Amarinder Singh and Mallikarjun Kharge. During the meeting, the PM told Rahul to keep meeting him, India Today news channel reported sources as saying.
Talking to reporters about the meeting, Rahul said the PM accepted that condition of farmers is serious. On the issue of farm loans, PM listened to Congress delegation’s demands but didn’t say anything about it, said Rahul.
However, Punjab Congress leader Capt Amarinder Singh said the PM promised to look into the issues of farm loan problems, farmers’ suicide and MSP. “We met the PM on problems faced by farmers, loans, suicides and MSP issue. PM has promised to look into the matter,” Singh told ANI.
The Modi-Rahul meet came as a pleasant surprise for many as the Congress leader has been continuously attacking the PM for his demonetisation decision announced on November 8. On Thursday, Rahul had claimed that he had proof of “personal corruption” by the PM.
Farm loan waiver and rise in MSP are some of the crucial poll planks of the Congress party for the upcoming Assembly election in Uttar Pradesh. During a month-long rally in the state recently, Rahul had toured across Uttar Pradesh and promised a loan waiver worth Rs 50,000 crore if the Congress wins the polls.
By meeting the PM on this issue at this time of hyper politics, the Congress is apparently trying to send a message to its supporters in Uttar Pradesh that the party is serious about the promises it has made to them.
Some reports, however, suggested that other opposition parties are not happy with the Rahul-Modi meet which now threatens to weaken the already shaky unity among the opposition parties.
During the meet, the PM reportedly told the Congress delegation that demonetisation was actually a Congress decision recommended by the Wanchoo committee during the then PM Indira Gandhi’s regime. But she had snubbed the report for political reasons.
