Congress leader questions PM Modi's standing ahead of Maharashtra visit

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As Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Wardha in Maharashtra, the Congress questioned Modi's standing between Mahatma Gandhi and Nathuram Godse, PTI reported.

Jairam Ramesh, the Congress general secretary in charge of communications posted three questions to the prime minister on social media platform X as he heads to Wardha.

"What is the BJP doing to prevent farmer suicides? Why has the BJP let down Adivasis in Forest Rights Act implementation? Where does the PM stand between Gandhi and Godse?" Ramesh said on X.

Elaborating on what he said were "jumla ki details", Ramesh mentioned that on an average day, seven farmers take their own lives in Maharashtra.

This heartbreaking figure has come from the state's Relief and Rehabilitation Minister, who reported that around 2,366 farmers died by suicide last year, between January and October, he said.

"The reasons are evident: 60% of districts faced drought conditions last year but no help arrived from the government. When crops were damaged by unseasonal rains in more than half of the state, farmers were extended loan waivers, but 6.56 lakh farmers were deprived of this relief due to software glitches," he said.

According to PTI, Ramesh stated that the Congress has continuously promised farmers MSP in accordance with the Swaminathan Committee's recommendation, a farm loan waiver with a Permanent Commission established to carry it out smoothly, and the settlement of all crop insurance claims within 30 days in response to this state-sponsored callousness.

He asked what is the Bharatiya Janata Party's vision to support the farmers of not only Maharashtra but also the whole of India.

He went on to say that the groundbreaking Forest Rights Act (FRA), passed by Congress in 2006, gave Adivasi and communities living near forests the legal authority to manage their own forests and to profit financially from the forest products they harvest.

The BJP government, however, has obstructed the implementation of the FRA, depriving millions of Adivasis of its benefits, he alleged.

However the BJP government has obstructed its implementation, depriving millions of Adivasis of its benefits, he claimed.

"Only 52% (2,06,620 claims) of the 4,01,046 individual claims filed have been granted, and land titles distributed cover only 23.5% (11,769 sq. km) of the 50,045 sq. km eligible for community rights," he said. He also asked why the BJP government in Maharashtra "failed" to provide Adivasi communities with their rights.

Bringing up the fact that Mahatma Gandhi had resided in Wardha, the Congress leader claimed that the Mahatma's principles are being "concertedly assaulted today, by the PM's own party."

"Some of his leaders have abused and ridiculed the Mahatma, and others have said they are unable to choose between Godse and Gandhi. Gandhian institutions across the country from the Akhil Bharat Sarva Seva Sangh in Varanasi to the Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat have faced demolition and takeover by the RSS and its affiliates," he claimed.

Affiliates of the Sarva Seva Sangh in Varanasi are currently on a 100-day fast to protest the Government's "bludgeoning of this hallowed institution", he said.

"Does the non-biological PM have any defence of his party's actions? Where does he stand in choosing between Gandhi and Godse?" he said, PTI reported.