Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday presented a strong defence of the agricultural bills being opposed by rival parties and said that the legislation are aimed at empowering the farmers of the country. Urging them not fall prey to the opposition parties propaganda, the Prime Minister said that it will act as a protection shield for farmers
PM Modi said that farmers have been given new independence in agriculture as they will now have more options and opportunities to sell their produce.
“I congratulate them on the passage of Bills. It was necessary to bring these to protect them from middlemen. These are farmers’ shields,” he said at a virtual event to launch several rail projects in Bihar.
The PM said that his government is committed to providing farmers appropriate price through the MSP, and asserted that no government has done as much for the farming community as the BJP-led NDA in its six years.
The PM also accused those opposing the measures of standing with middlemen and deceiving and lying to peasants.
Without naming Congress, he said, “… people who ruled this country for decades are attempting to mislead the farmers on this issue. They are lying to the farmers.”
He asserted that the government’s purchase of farm produce will remain, adding that the mechanism of minimum support price will continue in the same way it always has.
The opposition parties have dubbed the three bills passed by Lok Sabha as anti-farmers and the BJP ally Shiromani Akali Dal quitting his government to protest them. The bills are — Farmer’s Produce Trade and Commerce(Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020; The Farmer (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020; and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020.
The bills will now be tabled in Rajya Sabha.
