Pawar hits back at Modi, says he doubled MSP, made India top producer of wheat, rice

Pawar’s comments were in response to statements made by Modi on Thursday, while he was inaugurating a bunch of projects in the state including a facility for devotees at the Satya Sai baba temple in Shirdi

Mumbai: NCP chief Sharad Pawar lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, two days after the latter took potshots at him and accused him of doing nothing for the sake of farmers.

Mumbai, India - May 02, 2023: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar with his wife at the launch of the second part of his autobiography ‘Lok Mazhe Sangati', at Y.B. Chavan Centre, Nariman Point, in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, May 02, 2023. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

Pawar said that we would refrain from attacking the prime minister personally as the dignity of his post needed to be maintained. But he claimed that during his tenure as India’s agricultural minister from 2004 to 2014, he had doubled the minimum support price for agricultural produce, introduced several schemes for the welfare of farmers and turned the country into the largest producer of wheat and the second largest producer of rice in ten years.

“My first decision after taking over as agriculture minister was to import wheat – which was odd, as agriculture was the mainstay of the country’s economy. It was then I decided to change the scenario and started the National Horticulture Mission and the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, among other schemes,” said Pawar.

The National Horticulture Mission provided grants up to ₹10 lakh for constructing farm ponds and lakhs of farm ponds were developed during his tenure under the scheme, said Pawar. He stated that farm loans worth ₹62,000 crore were waived off during this period to arrest farmer suicides.

Pawar’s comments were in response to statements made by Modi on Thursday, while he was inaugurating a bunch of projects in the state including a facility for devotees at the Satya Sai baba temple in Shirdi.

“A senior leader from Maharashtra was agriculture minister in the central government. I respect him, but what has he done for the farmer?” Modi has asked.

Meanwhile, Pawar noted that the opposition INDIA coalition was still a work in progress and refused to predict what would happen in next Lok Sabha elections.

“The INDIA bloc is still in the process of deliberation, and it is not easy for me to comment on it unless the discussions are over...We all feel we should contest the parliamentary elections together, though it would be difficult to fight together in assembly polls in many states,” he said.

The veteran leader also taunted the prime minister for not speaking about reservation for Marathas during his speech at Shirdi.

“I feel the government is doing nothing to resolve the issue of Maratha reservation… Even the prime minister who could have resolved it did nothing. They should not wait for the situation to go out of hand,” he said.

The Maratha strongman and former defence minister also criticised the lack of clarity in the country’s foreign policy with regards to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

“In his first statement, PM Modi extended full support to Israel. Later, the foreign ministry declared support for the Palestinian cause. The way attacks are going on Gaza – hospitals are being bombed killing thousands, India never supported all this violence,” he said.