(Asian News Hub) – Rahul Gandhi, during a discussion on the 2021 Budget in the Lok sabha on Thursday, accused the government of crony capitalism.
Reinterpreting the ‘Hum do, humare do’ slogan, once used in government’s family planning campaigns, the Congress leader said the NDA government is ensuring well being of only a few rich people close to those in power.
“This ‘hum do humare do’ began with Notebandi. Then came GST. Then came Covid. Migrant workers pleaded for a bus or train ticket to return home, but were told to walk back.” he said.
Amid interruptions from the treasury benches, Speaker Om Birla requested Rahul Gandhi to limit his discussions to the Union Budget. Rahul agreed, saying he is just laying the foundation before speaking on Budget.Continuing to speak on farmers’ issues, Rahul criticized the newly enacted farm laws and said, “Intent of first law is to give one friend, the right to have all crops of India. Who’ll be at loss? ‘thelawalas’, small businessmen and those working in the mandis.”
“The content of the second law is that big businessmen can store as much food grains, fruits & vegetables as they want. They can hoard as much as they want. Content of the second law is to end the Essential Commodities Act. It is, to start unlimited hoarding in India,” Rahul said.
“The content of the third law is that when a farmer goes before the biggest businessman of India to demand the right price for his crops, he will not be allowed to go to the Court,” he added.
But then he announced that he will not speak on Budget but only on farmers’ issues. He then appealed to the House to stand in silence for a minute to remember those have lost their lives during the farmers’ protest.
Speaker Om Birla objected to this, and asked members to take their seats. He requested members to submit in writing, in advance, if anyone wished for a similar observation within the House.
(With agency inputs)
