Smriti Irani challenges Rahul Gandhi for debate on farm laws

New Delhi: Union Minister Smriti Irani has challenged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for a debate on the contentious farm laws passed by the Centre recently.

Addressing a farmers' rally in Amethi on Friday, organised by BJP proxy organisations, Union Minister and parliament member of the constituency Smriti Irani launched a ruthless attack against the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

Irani asked Rahul Gandhi to come in the midst of farmers at the rally and claimed that she would expose him for ''every single sin'' committed by him.

She accused the Congress leader of lying and misleading farmers over the Centre's farm laws.

''Rahul Gandhi is telling lies and misleading farmers.'' ''He is shedding crocodile tears for farmers and misleading them. His own jija (brother-in-law) has encroached upon the land of farmers,'' she alleged, in an apparent reference to charges levelled against Robert Vadra by political rivals.

Irani's attack on Gandhi comes amid protests by farmers on various border points of Delhi against the laws.

The Union minister addressed the rally in Singhpur block in Tiloi as part of a mega exercise undertaken by the BJP to reach out to farmers as Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday released over Rs 18,000 crore to more than nine crore farmer families under the 'Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi' (PM-KISAN).

While putting up a strong defence of the three new farm laws, Modi on Friday said the Centre is willing to restart the dialogue on all farmers-related issues, even with those staunchly opposed to his government as long as the talks are based on issues, facts and logic.

Irani said Gandhi, whom she defeated in the last parliamentary election, is showing sympathy for farmers now, but he himself has ''grabbed'' the land of farmers. ''The kind of development which had taken place before I came here is known to all. This family had knowingly kept Amethi and its farmers away from development. They kept misleading them, enjoyed the fruits of power sitting in Delhi and lived in a palace of gold,'' she alleged.

Irani alleged that the Gandhi family did not think about the development of Amethi after winning elections. She also listed various development works undertaken after the BJP formed government in Delhi.

Talking to reporters later, Irani said, ''The Congress is misleading farmers by telling a lie that MSP and mandis will come to an end, only for political gains.''

The farmers of the country want to move towards adopting new techniques to increase their income but this is troubling the Congress, she said. She also cited how various schemes of the state and central governments have benefitted the farmers of Amethi.