NEW DELHI: Breaking his silence on farmers’ protests against the recently passed farm laws, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that these laws have opened new doors of opportunity for farmers and granted them more rights.
“The recently passed farm laws have created new possibilities for farmers and opened new doors for farmers. Farmers’ demands that had continued for several decades have now been met. Most political parties have accepted the demands of farmers. farmers at some point. The laws have been passed after detailed discussion in Parliament, “the prime minister said, addressing the nation on his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio show.
He said farmers should not pay attention to rumors or those spreading misconceptions, adding that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in the Center was committed to the well-being of the country’s farmers.
Thousands of farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh have continued to protest against the laws since September, when they were passed, despite repeated guarantees from the union government and calls to come to the table for dialogue.
The government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), NDA, had suffered a setback when Harsimrat Kaur Badal, former union minister and senior leader of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), resigned and the party left the alliance following protests against the laws.
The problem has been compounded because all of Punjab’s political parties, including the ruling Congress, SAD, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), have supported the demands of protesting farmers and the BJP has been left alone without any supporters.
“People should know how Jitendra Bhoiji, a farmer from Dhule, Maharashtra, used these new agricultural laws. He produced corn and decided to sell it to traders at the right price. The total amount agreed was around ₹3.32 lakhs. He got ₹25,000 in advance. It was agreed that you will receive the remaining amount in 15 days, but you did not receive the payment. Under the new law, it is mandatory to pay within 3 days. If the payment is not made, the farmer can file a complaint. He filed a complaint and received his fees within days. Whatever the field, correct knowledge is an additional strength for everyone, “said PM Modi.
Even as union ministers like Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah and Narendra Singh Tomar have been trying to appease farmers, some opposition-run states have started working on laws to overturn those passed by Parliament.
Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan took the initiative and passed laws or established rules to negate the central agricultural laws. Others, like West Bengal, are looking for options to counter the new laws.
In a separate note, Prime Minister Modi, on his radio show, said that work and research on a COVID-19 vaccine is underway, but called on people to be careful and take precautions to protect themselves from it. coronavirus.
“After coming out of the lockdown phase, the discussion about the vaccine has started. But any kind of laxity with the coronavirus is still very dangerous. We have to continue to firmly fight the virus, ”said the prime minister.
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