On Farmers’ Protest, Union Min Anurag Thakur Says Orgs Raising ‘New Issues’, Slams Congress’s ‘MSP Guarantee’

Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Tuesday said wherever Rahul Gandhi announces a poll promise he does not show his face in that region for the next five years once the polls are over.

File Photo Of Union Minister Anurag Thakur ( Image Source :PTI Images )

Responding to the Congress's "MSP ki legal guarantee" in the first poll promise ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said on Tuesday that whenever Rahul Gandhi makes a poll promise, he does not return to that region for the next five years after the polls. Thakur claimed that the grand old party had failed not once, but several times, and that their promises had also failed.

Union Minister Anurag Thakur told ANI, "Congress failed not once, but many times, and Congress' guarantees also failed. In Himachal Pradesh, too, each woman received a monthly guarantee of Rs 1500. But all of their guarantees have failed."

#WATCH | On Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's statement that "Congress will give a legal guarantee of MSP to farmers", Union Minister Anurag Thakur says, "Congress failed not once but many times and the guarantees of Congress also failed...In Himachal Pradesh too, they had given a… pic.twitter.com/BB5NNUp2Vm

— ANI (@ANI) February 13, 2024

"We increased the prices of MSP and also increased the procurement and Congress spent Rs 5.5 lakh crore. While the Modi government spent Rs 18.49 lakh crore. The Modi government has done many times more work for the agriculture sector and the welfare of farmers and will continue to do so in the future also," Thakur added further. 

We Asked Farmers To Sit And Talk But They Left: Union Minister Anurag Thakur 

On farmers' protest and their demands, Thakur said that the "Modi government has worked a lot for the promotion of the agriculture sector and welfare of farmers from the very first day. When the farmers raised their demands, we immediately agreed to the discussion. We held a discussion (with farmers' leaders) for several hours."

#WATCH | On farmers' protest, Union Minister Anurag Thakur says, "Modi government has worked a lot for the promotion of the agriculture sector and welfare of farmers from the very first day. When the farmers raised their demands, we immediately agreed to the discussion. We held a… pic.twitter.com/ujyWtXr1Tl

— ANI (@ANI) February 13, 2024

Thakur claimed that the Union Ministers asked the farmers to sit and continue the discussion, but they left, saying: "They (farmers) say that India should withdraw from the WTO. They say cancel the free trade agreement and don't install smart metres.

"We are ready to discuss new issues but will need to consult with other stakeholders such as state governments and farmer organisations. I would only tell the protesters not to use violence, and I would like to request that the farmer leaders continue the round of talks," Thakur said.