Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Jagdish Vishwakarma on Wednesday, 17 June accused the Indian National Congress of deliberately misleading farmers and exploiting them for political gain, while asserting that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has delivered long-term, structural support to India's agricultural sector. Vishwakarma made the remarks at a farmers' conference held in Gondal taluka, Rajkot district, as part of the BJP's 'Vishwas, Vikas and Jan Kalyan Abhiyan' — a campaign marking 12 years of the Union government under Modi.

BJP's Charge Against Congress

Vishwakarma did not mince words in his attack on the opposition. 'Today, Congress is doing politics in the name of farmers. This is the same Congress that had bullets fired at farmers during its rule, while the BJP government is moving forward on the path of giving farmers respect and security,' he said, according to reports from the event.

He alleged that Congress was attempting to divert farmers in the 'wrong direction' and characterised the party's farmer outreach as opportunistic rather than substantive. The BJP, he argued, had consistently backed its rhetoric with policy action.

Key Agricultural Support Numbers

Vishwakarma cited procurement figures to bolster the government's record. He claimed the Modi government had purchased agricultural produce worth ₹26 lakh crore from farmers across India over the past 12 years under minimum support price (MSP) mechanisms.

Drilling down to Gujarat's performance, he said that in the last year alone, the state procured 17,41,287 metric tonnes of groundnut worth ₹12,646.97 crore, 78,420 metric tonnes of soybean worth ₹417.82 crore, 3,044 metric tonnes of urad worth ₹23.74 crore, and 80,565 metric tonnes of tur worth ₹644.53 crore.

He also highlighted that the Gondal Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) records an annual turnover exceeding ₹12,000 crore, citing it as evidence of Saurashtra's robust farm economy.

Water Scarcity, Narmada, and the 'Tanker Raj' Contrast

Vishwakarma invoked the region's recent history to contrast BJP and Congress governance on water access. He recalled a period when trains arriving from Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar carried water tankers rather than passengers — a condition he labelled 'tanker raj' under Congress rule.

He credited the Sardar Sarovar project and the Narmada scheme with transforming water availability in Gujarat, particularly in Saurashtra, where water scarcity had previously forced women to travel long distances and had severely disrupted farming communities.

Natural Farming and the 'Back to Basics' Push

The BJP leader also promoted natural farming, saying Prime Minister Modi was encouraging farmers to adopt a 'Back to Basics' approach. He urged farmers to combine natural farming methods with modern technology and government schemes to reduce cultivation costs and raise incomes. 'The government was also working to ensure better market returns for naturally grown produce,' he said.

He referenced Modi's 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' (Plant a Tree in Your Mother's Name) campaign, urging citizens to participate in the environmental initiative.

State Agriculture Minister Echoes the Message

Gujarat State Agriculture Minister Jitu Vaghani also addressed the gathering, reiterating that the BJP viewed farmers as a priority rather than a political instrument. 'The BJP has never intended to harm farmers and has worked towards permanent solutions to farmers' issues,' he said.

Vaghani disclosed that an assistance package of ₹11,000 crore had been extended to farmers affected by unseasonal rainfall, describing it as an unprecedented relief measure. He added that the Gujarat government had procured agricultural produce worth ₹15,000 crore at support prices to directly benefit farmers. 'Whenever farmers have faced difficulties, the government has stood by them and will continue to do so,' Vaghani said.

Vishwakarma also noted that Prime Minister Modi had completed 4,399 days of national governance, arguing that welfare schemes introduced during this period had reached virtually every household in the country. With Gujarat's farm economy under the spotlight ahead of future electoral cycles, the BJP's aggressive farmer outreach signals that agriculture will remain a central battleground in the state's political narrative.