BJP chief JP Nadda has targeted Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi over the farmers' protest (File)
The BJP and the Congress sparred on Sunday over excerpts from Rahul Gandhi's May 2015 Lok Sabha speech - in which the Kerala MP referred to a conversation with a potato farmer from Uttar Pradesh and seemed to support removing middlemen and allowing farmers to sell directly to buyers.
BJP chief JP Nadda accused Mr Gandhi of hypocrisy and misleading farmers protesting the centre's agriculture laws. Hours later Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala hit back, tweeting that while the opposition party wanted farm sector reforms, it was against the "black laws" passed by the centre.
"What is this magic, Rahulji? What you were earlier advocating, now you are opposing. You have nothing to do with the interest of country or farmers. You want to play politics. But your hypocrisy will not work... the people and the farmers have realised your dual character," Mr Nadda tweeted.
In the attached video, Mr Gandhi narrates a conversation between himself and a farmer from Uttar Pradesh, in which the farmer says he could get a better price for his potato crop if he could bypass middlemen and sell directly to factories that make potato chips.
In his response to the attack on Mr Gandhi, Mr Surjewala said: "We also want reforms in farm sector but the question is (about) the impact (the) three black laws have had on farmers." He also pointed out that Mr Gandhi spoke only about removing middlemen who eat into farmers' profits.
Mr Gandhi's speech focused on the importance of setting up food-related industrial units in UP.
Mr Surjewala also said that "before spreading lies" Mr Nadda "should know potatoes don't have MSP".
Farmers protesting the laws fear they will lose MSPs (minimum support price), which guarantee government procurement of crops. The centre has said this will not happen and has offered written promises. The farmers, however, want legal guarantees, which the centre is unwilling to provide.
The BJP has repeatedly pointed out that the Congress wanted to pass similar bills when it was in power, but is now opposing the reforms for fear of losing votes and credit.
"The reality of the Congress, which confuses farmers and deprives them of their rights, is revealed again. Sonia Gandhi used to advocate a market free of middlemen for farmers and now opposes it. This is proof of the Congress's opportunistic thinking," Mr Nadda said in an attack on Sonia Gandhi.
Five rounds of talks have been held so far to resolve the impasse between the two sides. However, neither side is willing to budge at this point. The farmers want the laws scrapped and the centre is only open to amending more problematic sections.
An invitation to a sixth round has been dismissed by the farmers, who say the centre is "not serious about our demands" and is more interested in propaganda that paints them in a negative light.
This morning farmers banged thalis to create a racket as Prime Minister's monthly radio address - Mann ki Baat - was broadcast. The protests took place at three spots - at Singhu on the Delhi-Haryana border, in Punjab's Faridkot and Rohtak in BJP-ruled Haryana.