Modi govt strengthened cooperatives movement, extended 3 times more help to farmers: Shah

BJP president Amit Shah claimed that previous UPA government had extended loans worth Rs 23,635 crore to farmers through cooperatives, while the present Modi government had extended a help of Rs 72,051 crore which was three times more.

Lucknow: Claiming that his party had strengthened the cooperatives movement in the country, BJP president Amit Shah said on Saturday that Modi government had extended three times more help to farmers when compared to the previous UPA government.

"The previous UPA government of Sonia (Gandhi) and Manmohan Singh had extended loans worth Rs 23,635 crore to farmers through cooperatives, while the present Modi government has extended a help of Rs 72,051 crore which is three times more," Shah said, addressing the Sahkarita Sammelan of his party here.

"In five years, the Sonia-Manmohan government being run with the support of SP and BSP managed this... Can you imagine how much the cooperatives movement has been strengthened in the country (after that)," he asked.

The BJP president also took a dig at the Congress president, saying "Rahul baba makes fun of us, says farmers debt has to be waived. We have done and shown in Uttar Pradesh; you (Congress) had promised in Karnataka that Rs 48,000-crore worth (farm loans) will be waived but could manage only Rs 1,800 crore."

"Why are you misleading farmers by making false promises? In 10 years of UPA government Rs 53,000 crore of three crore farmers was waived once. Tomorrow, in Gorakhpur, the prime minister will launch a scheme which will extend a help of Rs 75,000 crore, benefitting 15 crore farmers in one year, and when 10 years of this (NDA) government is completed, Rs 7,50,000 crore would have been transferred in the accounts of farmers," he said.

The BJP president said the government of former prime minister Manmohan Singh, then enjoying the support of "bua-bhatija" (Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav), had left the Indian economy at the ninth place in global ranking, which the Modi government had improved to sixth.

"Atal ji had brought it to the ninth spot and after him it had remained static. In five years of the Modi government, it has come to the sixth spot and before counting (after Lok Sabha elections due by May), it will be at fifth place. We can today proudly state that the Indian economy had become the fastest growing one, leaving China behind," Shah said.

The foundation of "change" had been laid by Modi in a manner that he had taken development ahead, he said. Shah said 22 crore people of Uttar Pradesh expect the benefits of the cooperatives movement to reach them and BJP workers should work to become the medium to achieve this.

He also asked the party workers to ensure that Modi returns to power with a massive mandate in the coming election and said "vijay utsav" should be celebrated only when the BJP crosses the target of 74 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

The National Democratic Alliance, a coalition led by BJP, presently has 73 seats in Uttar Pradesh.

(With PTI inputs)