‘Controversial ‘Modi graph’ video: Congress defends farmers’ right to express political opinions, BJP cites PM’s immense popularity’

PTI, Feb 15, 2024, 7:10 PM IST

If any farmer displays his political leanings he should not be considered an anti-national, the Congress said on Thursday after the video of a farmer leader purportedly talking about the need to bring Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s graph down went viral.

According to the video on social media, farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal is purportedly heard talking about ”Modi’s graph” being high and the need to bring that down.

The BJP did not directly attack the farmer leader for his comments against Modi but asserted that the prime minister’s graph is already very high for a long period of time due to his honesty, work and people’s blessings.

”He is a world leader,” BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said and noted the homecoming of seven Indian nationals from Qatar. They were on the death row in Qatar on alleged espionage charges before their sentence was commuted to jail terms. They were later released following India’s intervention.

Prasad also referred to Modi’ trips to Abu Dhabi and Qatar to make his point about his global recognition.

Asked about the video, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera asked, ”Can’t a farmer talk about his political leanings.” ”Can he not say that he wants a different kind of politics in this country. If a farmer says I want to defeat the BJP, he becomes anti-national. In 2014 many used to say we want to defeat the Congress, we did not call them anti-national,” Khera said at a press conference at the AICC headquarters.

”Isn’t the farmer a voter? does he not have rights? If someone votes for Modi, he is a patriot, and if he talks against him, he is anti-national. What kind of a setup is being established,” he said.

BJP leader Prasad said the Modi government is dedicated to farmers’ development, noting that the minimum support prices of paddy and wheat have gone up by 62.5 per cent and 67 per cent respectively under its tenure.

The government has transferred over Rs 2.81 lakh crore to 11 crore farmers under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, he said.

Targeting the erstwhile Congress-led UPA government, he claimed that it had rejected the Swaminathan Commission’s report as ”not feasible”. Congress leaders had said that its implementation would create havoc with the economy, Prasad claimed.