Wardha (Maharashtra), March 20 (IANS) Appealing to Maharashtra farmers not to commit suicide, BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi Thursday proposed a formula for ending misery in farmlands.
"We want a 5-F formula - farm, fibre, fabric, fashion and foreign (exports) - to help the cotton producing farmers," Modi said at his rally amidst applause from the farming community.
Attacking the Congress-led government at the centre, he said all they want is to win the elections but they neither understand the nation's needs nor how to take India forward.
Discussing the plight of farmers in Maharashtra - where nearly three dozen have committed suicide in the past four days - the Bharatiya Janata Party leader demanded why the money that belongs to the farmers is not being disbursed to them.
"They (the UPA) announce packages but give nothing. They are not concerned about how water reaches the farmers. The need of the hour is to equip the farmers with latest technology," the Gujarat chief minister said.
He assured that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will ensure proper relief to farmers affected by natural calamities and financial difficulties.
Modi called for systemic catering to the needs of the farmers to resolve their difficulties, thereby leading to no more deaths.
"Why don't we think of providing goods trains to ferry farm products? Why do we only speak of passenger trains?" Modi asked.
Lashing out at Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Modi said that though India has great potential in agriculture, farmers are dying everywhere.
"The union agriculture minister should answer: when cotton harvest was good, global demand rose, farmers were getting global orders, then why was cotton export banned? For whose benefit was it done?" he asked.
Recalling the "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan" slogan of late prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, Modi said farmers and soldiers were not safe under the Congress.
"At that time, Shastri had electrified our farmers, they filled the country with foodgrain. But under the Congress, this mess is created. The nation is in a mess and farmers are suffering," he said.
Earlier, BJP leader Nitin Gadkari said that unlike Maharashtra, farmers were not committing suicide in Gujarat due to Modi's style of governance.
"He has used river water properly for the welfare of farmers. There are no farmers suicides in Gujarat, but under the Congress rule in Maharashtra, many farmers have ended their lives," Gadkari said.
We will retaliate if Pakistan fire: BSF
Jammu, Jan 6 (IANS) The Border Security Force (BSF) will retaliate without fail if its troops are fired at by Pakistani forces, BSF Director General D.K. Pathak said Tuesday."Prevalence of peace
NSUT: Research will get speed with the help of supercomputer, AI can be used in the university itself
Students of Netaji Subhash University of Technology (NSUT) will now be able to conduct research with the help of supercomputers. With this, students will not have to pay fees for using software from
Flood in Pakistan: Nine died due to infectious diseases spread in Pakistan, in the grip of these diseases in the flood-affected province
After the flood waters receded in Pakistan, now infectious diseases are spreading rapidly. Nine people died due to these diseases in the flood-hit Sindh province in the last 24 hours. According to the
Antilia suspect carcass: conspiracy feared from Tihar, cell phone found from cell of terrorists
Based on information received from the Special Cell of Delhi Police, Tihar Jail authorities raided and seized a mobile phone from a jail. Some terrorists are lodged in this jail. The Special Cell
Raftaar vs True Blue: Canadian rapper accused of hurting religious sentiments; Raftaar gets angry after seeing obscene dance
Indian rapper Raftaar has accused Canadian rapper Tommy Genesis of hurting religious sentiments in his new music video 'True Blue'. Some scenes of this music video have surfaced, in which people are
62,000 Delhiites checked voters lists through SMS
New Delhi, April 10 (IANS) More than 62,000 electors in the national capital checked their names on the voters lists through a mobile phone message facility, an official of the poll panel said
Ratan Tata bets on the startup of 25-year-old youth, know what the company does
Industry veteran Ratan Tata has announced an investment in Goodfellows, a startup that supports senior citizens as a service. However, information about the investment amount has not been given. Let
Rahul Gandhi's Birthday: When Rahul Gandhi had to face two biggest tragedies in his life
Happy Birthday Rahul Gandhi: Today is the birthday of Rahul Gandhi, son of late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and former Congress President Sonia Gandhi, grandson of India's first woman Prime Minister
Weather Update: IMD's alert regarding rain in these states of the country, it may rain today including Delhi-Himachal
Weather Update Today: Due to the rains in many states of the country in the past, the weather has remained pleasant. Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department has issued an alert regarding rain,
Major accident in Jammu and Kashmir: Part of a tunnel under construction in Ramban collapsed, 13 laborers trapped, 3 rescued; Rescue underway
Part of an under-construction tunnel on the national highway between Ramban and Ramsu in Jammu and Kashmir collapsed. Due to this 13 laborers working there got trapped in the debris. 3 laborers have
