Cash Support to Farmers Might Increase - Jaitley Says While Slamming Congress

Finance Minister Piyush Goyal has announced minimum support of Rs 6,000 per annum to the farmers in the 2019-20 budget. Farmers will be given this amount in three instalments. In this sense, it is worth 500 rupees monthly.

Union minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday indicated that the minimum support amount of Rs 6,000 per annum to farmers can be increased in the future depending on the growth of the government resources.

He also took on Congress President Rahul Gandhi for his reaction on the scheme announced in the Interim Budget for 2019-20 by equating it to Rs 17 a day dole, saying the opposition leader must "grow up" and realise that he is contesting a national election and not a college union poll.

Jaitley further said that to address the issue of farmers along with the plan to give 6000 per year they are also providing farmers other government schemes like a house, subsidised food, free healthcare and hospitalisation, free sanitation, electricity, roads, gas connections, twice the amount of credit at a very cheap rate.

He also slammed Chidambaram saying that, "What is the biggest thing that the Congress claims that they ever did? (UPA regime Finance Minister) P Chidambaram announced a Rs 70,000 crore farm loan waiver... (but) actual distributed was only Rs 52,000 crore. (Also), CAG said a large part of that money went to traders and businessmen and converted itself into a fraud".

Jaitley who is currently in the US for his treatment said that the BJP-led NDA government since coming to power in 2014 has taken all possible steps for the well being of the farmers and will continue to do so.