Kairana Lok Sabha bypolls: Rahul Gandhi rakes up farmers' plight to uproot BJP

The Opposition came out strongly to counter Prime Minister Narendra Modi's attempts to garner support of farmers in the sugarcane bowl of western Uttar Pradesh (UP) on Sunday where bypolls will be held in the Lok Sabha constituency of Kairana today.

The Opposition is unitedly fighting against the BJP in Kairana, which being the last big bypoll before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, has become a question of prestige for them. The Kairana seat became vacant after the death of BJP MP Hukum Singh.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi mocked at PM Modi's promises to farmers by invoking a local farmer Udayveer who died on Saturday protesting against non-payment of dues by sugar mills and an increase in power tariff.

"The farmers of Uttar Pradesh are thinking why didn't the Prime Minister pay attention to them when he ripped past their farms to take credit of the UPA schemes. Unfortunately, farmers like Udayveer, who lost their life fighting cannot even think this," Gandhi said in a tweet.

Upset at the EC for allowing PM Modi to hold a roadshow and a rally next door to the poll-bound Kairana, Shakti Sinh Gohil of Congress raised question mark on the poll promises made by the BJP and for not condoling the death of the farmer. "The PM could at least have given a condolence message on Udayveer's death or could have visited his house... During the UP assembly polls, the PM said that the BJP government will give the due of sugarcane farmers within 14 days. It has been over 14 months, where is their due? The due that was Rs 5500 crore has increased to Rs 12000 crore in UP alone," he said.

The Congress also reminded PM Modi that the undue credit that he is taking by inaugurating Delhi-Meerut Expressway was cleared during the tenure of former PM Manmohan Singh. "PM Manmohan Singh had made a steering committee in December 2011 to complete the first phase of the project at the earliest and major works like feasibility and land acquisition were completed during the UPA's tenure, but PM Modi is trying to take all the credit for it even as the rest of three phases remain incomplete," said Gohil.

Samajwadi party chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav also took a jibe at PM Modi for opening the Eastern Peripheral highway after the interference of Supreme Court. He also said that the farmers and people of Baghpat, Meerut, Shamli and Muzaffarnagar know the truth of the PM's jumlas.