New Delhi: BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate L K Advani today claimed that relief packages announced for farmers by the Congress-led UPA government had "not worked" and promised far-reaching policy and programmatic measures to revive agriculture if the NDA is voted to power.

"The relief packages announced by the UPA government have clearly not worked, since farmers suicides have continued in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, both of which have Congress and Congress-led governments," Advani told a group of kisan representatives during an interaction.

The senior BJP leader also took note of the suicides by handloom weavers in recent months in Andhra Pradesh.

"This is a totally unacceptable situation and a future NDA government, if elected to office, will take the most far-reaching policy and programmatic measures to revive Indian agriculture," Advani said.

The UPA government had announced a farm loan waiver to the tune of Rs 75,000 crores in the last budget. The move had taken the sting out of BJP campaigns against UPA on the issue.

Advani also promised to initiate "revolutionary measures" to promote agriculture-based value-addition industries in rural areas. Development of rural infrastructure like roads, power, irrigation and storage facilities will also receive a massive fillip, he said.

The saffron party leader said 60 per cent of the country s population was dependent on agriculture and if this sector is "properly promoted", it could produce largest number of employment opportunities.

He also lamented the decreasing share of agriculture to India's GDP.
Source : PTI