New Delhi: Congress VP Rahul Gandhi along with party delegation met PM Narendra Modi on Friday morning and submitted a memorandum on Kisan Maang Patras (farmers' demand letters) from Uttar Pradesh and Punjab demanding loan waivers & reducing the electricity bills by half.
The Congress leaders put forth the demands of farmers from across the country before the Prime Minister to which he said “theek hai dekhenge” (ok, will look into it). Reports say Modi also told the Gandhi scion, "milte rahiyega" (keep meeting regularly).
Talking to reporters after the meeting, Rahul said said "PM Modi hasn't given any assurance on waiving off farmers' loans."
The letters are being used to pressure the government to pursue a pro-farmer policy.
The letters - printed forms carrying the loan amount and phone numbers of individual farmers - was submitted to the Prime Minister.
The three main demands on the table are loan waiver for farmers, reducing their power bills by half, and helping them get remunerative minimum support price for their produce.
The Congress has collected over 2 crore "Kisan maang patras" from across poll-bound Uttar Pradesh and over 34 lakh from Punjab which also goes to polls early next year.
The delegation comprised senior Congress leaders including Punjab state unit chief Captain Amarinder Singh and Leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge.
Gandhi also said that the government decision to remove import duty on wheat was a "terrible blow" to the farmers.
"The Prime Minister too admitted the condition of the farmers to be grave. But he did not say anything about waiving off the loans to farmers," he said.
Gandhi's meeting with Modi comes days after he vowed to expose the Prime Minister's "personal complicity in corruption".
(With Agency inputs)