Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said some people from Maharashtra only did politics in the name of farmers, comments aimed at Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar, who handled the agriculture portfolio during the UPA government.

Modi said his government was committed to farmer welfare and pointed out that cultivators are now getting MSP (minimum support price) money for their products directly into their bank accounts.

The PM was speaking at an event in the temple town of Shirdi in western Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district after inaugurating several development projects.

“Some people in Maharashtra only did politics in the name of farmers. A senior leader of Maharashtra served as the country's agriculture minister. I personally respect him, but what has he done for farmers?” Modi said, without naming Pawar.

The NCP founder served as the agriculture minister when the Congress-led UPA government was in office at the Centre (2004-14).

Modi said when Pawar was the Union agriculture minister, farmers had to be at the mercy of middlemen.

“For months, farmers had to wait for their money. Our government gave MSP money directly into the bank accounts of farmers,” he added.

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