New Delhi: Union parliamentary affairs minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said that the 50 years of Congress rule had not addressed the ills afflicting the farming sector.
In his intervention lasting 30 minutes in the debate on the agrarian situation after the speech by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Mr Venkaiah Naidu also hit out at the previous UPA dispensation for issuing over 460 ordinances during its tenure compared to about 10 by it.
Later, Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh replied with an over one-hour animated speech in which he accused the Congress governments of not having expanded irrigation capacity. He listed the Centre’s intervention to address the woes of the farmers through relaxation of norms and hiking of compensation.
Mr Venkaiah, countering Opposition charges on the agrarian crisis, said, “Our commitment is to the farmers, poor people and rural people... gave patience for five years.”
