I do believe that no government can claim that 100 per cent success has been achieved. I also said that perhaps the progress of development could have been faster. But specifically about the deficiencies that has to be identified by the outsiders.

On the plight of farmers

It is disturbing area. Certain packages have been announced. We are trying to redress the problems of the farmers specially by providing good prices. Take the case of wheat. The price of wheat has increased during these three years by more than Rs 150 per quintal. While the previous three years the average rate of increase was just ten rupees.

On farmers' suicides

There are many reasons. Drought is one of the reasons and lack of availability of credit. There too, if your look at the performance compared to the previous three-year period, the credit availability is much more. Interest rate has been adjusted substantially. But as I mentioned, earlier, it has not addressed all the problems. In certain other areas the problems are still there and these are to be addressed. Image: Rekha, the wife of 34-year-old cotton farmer Chandrakant Gurenule, holds a picture of him, after he committed suicide by self immolation in their house at Yavatmal outside Nagpur.
Photograph: Sebastian D'Souza/AFP/Getty Images
Also see: UPA marks three years in power

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