Shivraj Singh Chouhan calls Rahul Gandhi ‘part-time leader’

Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday criticised senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and called him a ‘part-time leader’ adding that Gandhi always criticises Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday criticised senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and called him a ‘part-time leader’ adding that Gandhi always criticises Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Speaking at the app launch, Chouhan said Bharat-VISTAAR application will prove beneficial to farmers. (HT sourced photo)

“The entire country is the family of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But, some people never hesitate to criticise him. There is a leader who has become a part-time leader and full-time dramebaaz. He has neither visited any agriculture field in his life,nor has any idea about the trading techniques of farming. But he will never stop criticising PM Modi,” said Chauhan while launching the Bharat-VISTAAR (Virtually Integrated System to Access Agricultural Resources) app in Jaipur.

Continuing his attack on Gandhi and the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, Chouhan said they never prioritised farmers’ interests during their rule.

“I want to ask him some questions. Why didn’t their UPA government implement the report of the Swaminathan committee? It was only Modi who enforced its recommendation by revising the minimum support price (MSP) formula. Why did they export all the sugar instead of storing them when there was a record-breaking production in 2010? Who caused damage to those farmers?” Chouhan asked.

He also lauded the interim US-India trade agreement.

“Our PM made the deal keeping the farmers’ interests in focus. We are leading the world in production of rice and wheat but not in lentils, pulses or apples. There is no harm in importing some of them at a limited amount from outside to fill up the gaps in demand”, he said.

Replying to the claims, Congress spokesperson Swarnim Chaturvedi said, “First, Chouhan must answer why his government is planning to import some crops instead of exporting any to USA. Secondly, our government had already implemented 90% of the Swaminathan committee’s report. Why did his government fail to bring an MSP law as promised?”

Speaking at the app launch, Chouhan said Bharat-VISTAAR application will prove beneficial to farmers.

“It is an AI-powered multilingual tool designed to provide information to farmers in their own language via mobile or a simple phone call. The tool will offer guidance on crop planning, packages of practices and pests, weather forecasts, markets, scheme information, eligibility, application, and grievance. It was recently announced in the union budget for FY 2026-27,” he said.

Rajasthan CM Bhajan Lal Sharma, who was also present at the event, said, “Our farmers are the ones who give life. Such an app will help boost the production of the farmers at a less amount of effort. It will therefore easily boost their income.”