Will waive all farm loans if alliance wins: Rahul Gandhi in Punjab

LUDHIANA/PATIALA: Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday promised to waive all farm loans, set up a permanent debt-waiver commission, and give the farmers legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for all the crops along with full compensation under a crop insurance scheme if his party wins the Lok Sabha elections.
Canvassing at Dakha for his party's state president and Ludhiana candidate Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Rahul said that if the INDIA bloc won on June 4, it will also act to eradicate drug menace from Punjab.Holding its copy of the Constitution and targeting the BJP, he said: "This is not a mere book but the voice of this country's poor and the work of Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and the people of India. All your reservation, public-sector enterprise, rights, and religious freedom flow from this document that, for the first time in 75 years, a party is threatening openly to scrap. So, these elections are also to save the Constitution."
'Modi divides'
Accusing PM Modi of dividing people in the name of religion, caste, and language, Rahul said: "He wants the rule of just 22-to-25 elites whom he serves and to whom he has handed over national assets such as ports, airports, infrastructure, defence production, and power projects. He turns brother against brother and faith against faith just for those 22 billionaires whose combined debt worth Rs 16 lakh crore he has waived. In contrast, UPA had waived Rs 70,000 crore worth of farm loans. You'll have to do that for 24 years to match what Modi gave away to the billionaires' club."
'MSP guarantee'
Rahul said: "Farmers demanded legal guarantee of MSP, but Modi refused it in his speeches. If we make the govt, we will set up a permanent farm loan waiver commission, which will give farmers multiple debt waivers. They are the backbone of our economy, whom we must protect. So, we'll also give them legal guarantee of MSP and make the crop insurance scheme farmer friendly to cover their full loss within 30 days."
'Agnipath to go'
Condemning BJP's 'Agnipath' scheme of a shorter defence service, Rahul promised to "throw it in the dustbin" upon winning. He claimed: "A scheme that creates two classes of martyrs is an insult to our soldiers. It protects the families, pension, and martyr status of the rich sons we lose, but treats poor Agniveers differently if these undertrained men churned out of the military school in six months don't survive the battle zone."
'Punjab vs drugs'
Speaking on Punjab's drug menace, Rahul said: "If not crushed with full authority and aggression, it will worsen. About the other election promises of the Congress such as guaranteed first job, Mahalakshmi scheme, and wage hike under rural job guarantee scheme, he said: "We will identify poor families and give them a monthly aid of Rs 8,500 each."