Congress should see its 2019 manifesto, Nirmala reminds Rahul

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday lashed out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for criticising the three farm bills.  Sitharaman questioned the Wayanad Lok Sabha MP the reason behind his lack of support to the same reforms which were promised by his party during the parliamentary elections last year. “I want to ask Rahul Gandhi (that) were these pro-farmers policies not mentioned in the 2019 election manifesto of Congress? They are protesting just because those reforms are being implemented by PM Modi, and not them,” the finance minister said. 

Congress in its menifesto for 2019 LS polls had said that if the party forms the government it would “repeal the Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMC) Act and make trade in agricultural produce — including exports and inter-state trade — free from all restrictions.” The party manifesto had also said it maintains that the “Essential Commodities Act, 1955 belongs to the age of controls. Congress promises to replace the Act by an enabling law that can be invoked only in the case of emergencies."

The BJP has said earlier that the previous governments in the Centre did not have the willpower to go ahead with tough reforms. Speaking exclusively to Hindustan Times earlier this month Union minister for agriculture Narendra SIngh Tomar had said, “Those who believe in status quo cannot create history. Even the UPA wanted to make these reforms but they couldn’t.”