Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “cruel joke” comment on the farm loan waiver scheme of the Karnataka state government has not sat well with the coalition government of the state. After Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and former CM Siddaramaiah took turns to hit out at the PM, KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao stepped up to bat.
During a press meet at the KPCC headquarters here, Rao accused the PM of being the first Prime Minister to lie in a public forum. “Narendra Modi criticises our initiatives, but what has he done for the farmers?” he questioned and added that so far, the state coalition government has waived off the loans of 7 lakh out of the 44 lakh farmers.
“The Prime Minister is losing credibility and is the first PM to lie in the public forum on important issues,” Rao stated.
Using the PM’s own remark against him, Rao said that by making light of the state government’s efforts, Modi himself is making a “cruel joke”. This was in response to the PM calling the Congress party’s initiatives, especially the farm loan waivers, “lollipop”. “By calling our government’s farm loan waivers a ‘lollipop’, PM Modi is making a cruel joke. Is he trying to silence and ridicule the farmers?” Rao asked.
