Farmer Dies While Protesting in Baghpat, Congress Slams PM Modi

Udaiveer Singh, 60, sitting on a dharna demanding payment of dues by sugar mills, died on Friday.

Image used for representational purposes.

(Photo: Reuters)

The Congress on Sunday, 28 May hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that while he spoke of development at Baghpat in western Uttar Pradesh, a farmer died protesting against the non-payment of sugarcane dues, not far from the venue of the PM's rally.

The opposition party also alleged that the BJP-led NDA government was trying to project development and infrastructure schemes initiated by the previous UPA government as its own.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that he visited Baghpat to take credit for a project envisaged during the erstwhile UPA government but did not spare any thought for the protesting sugarcane farmers.

In a tweet in Hindi, he said the prime minister zoomed past the fields of sugarcane farmers of Uttar Pradesh without sparing any thought for people like Udaiveer Singh.

Sixty-year-old Singh, sitting on a dharna demanding payment of dues by sugar mills and against the hike in rural power tariffs, died on Friday.

Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala also attacked the prime minister for inaugurating the Eastern Peripheral Expressway, barely 30 kilometres away from the farmers protest site.

He asked why the prime minister did not pay tributes to Udaiveer Singh.

Surjewala also reminded the prime minister of his promise to pay all pending dues of sugarcane farmers within 14 days and claimed that around Rs 12,224 crore worth of their dues were pending. He asked whether the prime minister would order sugar mill owners to clear the dues.