Nirmala Sitharaman Hits Back At Rahul Gandhi's 'Halwa' Remark, Defends MSP Policy

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman delivered a robust response to Rahul Gandhi's recent comments, addressing his criticism of the traditional 'Halwa ceremony' associated with the start of new projects. On Monday, Sitharaman expressed her disappointment over Gandhi's remarks, emphasizing that the Halwa ceremony is a time-honored tradition symbolizing the commencement of new work with sweets. She countered Gandhi's attack, questioning why he had not previously raised concerns about the representation of SCs, STs, and OBCs in the Finance Ministry during his tenure. In addition to this, Sitharaman criticized Congress for its stance on farmers' issues, accusing the party of hypocrisy. She referred to the MS Swaminathan Commission’s report on Minimum Support Price (MSP), which was rejected by the UPA government in 2007 due to concerns about market distortion. Sitharaman highlighted that, unlike the previous administration, the Modi government introduced the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi to support farmers.