Please Don't Shed Crocodile Tears For Farmers: Arun Jaitley Counsels Opposition

New Delhi: Fire-fighting the opposition attacks on the government's mega announcement of cash transfers to farmers, Union minister Arun Jaitley tore into the opposition and demanded that they stop shedding "crocodile tears" for the farmers. Jaitley said the farm sector required resources and if the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) scheme announced in the budget, which aims to placate small farmers by offering Rs 6,000 per year, is inadequate, the Centre will increase its allocation.

"Please don't shed crocodile tears today for farmers. If opposition also has several governments let them announce similar schemes. I'm sure other governments will also consider this," said Jaitley during an interaction on interim Budget through video conferencing from New York.

The ruling TRS in Telangana claimed the cash dole for farmers announced in the union budget was an "imitation" of the 'Rythu Bandhu' scheme in the state with slight modifications

Pointing out that the sector is in distress, Jaitley said the Centre has taken the first step and "let the state governments of so called critics top it up". Income support and subsidy can go hand in hand, he added.

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi called the Rs 17 a day an "insult" to the farmer.

Taking a dig at critics of the scheme, he said the Congress had announced a Rs 72,000-crore farm loan waiver but had actually disbursed about Rs 52,000 crore.

Jaitley said the average monthly collection in the first eight months of the GST roll-out was Rs 89,000 crore which increased to Rs 97,000 crore in the 10 months so far this fiscal.

"If the collections are growing at 11-12 per cent in the second year then with increased compliance, the collection in third and fourth year will be much higher," he said.

Taking on the criticism that this budget was an exercise keepingin mind the upcoming general election, Jailtley said "budgets are as much a political reality".

"Budgets are a political reality in a Parliamentary democracy. So are elections, but this is not a move which anywhere contradicts or deviates from what this government has been doing in the past 5 years.