Backing up the prime minister’s message to farmers on the new farm laws, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh took a conciliatory tone on Friday when he asked farmers to “experiment” with the new laws for “a year or two” beforehand. to seek any changes, while Interior Minister Amit Shah said the government had an “open mind” about any clause that farmers felt they were not interested in.
Singh said that he spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi two days ago and that he had emphasized the need to continue talks with farmers. He said it was “painful” to see farmers protest.
Addressing a rally in Dwarka, Singh said there was a marked improvement in MSP-based acquisitions under the NDA compared to the UPA tenure.
“But even then, we are doubted. Misconceptions are being raised. I want to tell my brothers and sisters, sitting in dharna for a long time, that it causes us pain. They may be sitting in dharna, but they are farmers. They were born from the womb of a farm mother. In our minds, we have a lot of respect for them. As the son of a farmer, I mean, we will not do anything to harm farmers’ rights, ”he said.
“Ek baar iss Act ko laagu toh hone dijiye. Saal-do saal, aap experiment karke toh dekhiye iss Act ke annusar. Yadi aapko lage ki yeh kisanon ke liye labhkaari Act nahin hai, toh mein daave ke saath keh sakta hoon, jaisa mein Pradhan Mantriji ki niyat ko jaanta hoon, behenon bhaiyon, ismei jo bhi sanshodhan avashyak hogahan se kari sanshodhan avashyak hogahan se kari sansyarrah taiyarrah hum he said.
(“Let this law be implemented once. For a year or two, experiment according to this law and see. If you think this is not a profitable law for farmers, I can say with certainty, knowing the intentions of the Prime Minister Whatever amendments are necessary, we will be ready to do them all “).
In the multiple rounds of talks so far, the government, he said, has been ready to make whatever amendment farmers want. He urged farmers to come to the table for further talks with the government and said they can bring agricultural experts if they wish.
“First it was said that the farmer would be destroyed, so some modifications should be made. Seven rounds of talks have occurred. Regardless of what the farmers have said, our government is also ready to make those amendments. What we also say is that the solution to the problem can be through conversations … I was speaking with the Prime Minister two days ago and he told me that at no time should the dialogue with the farmers stop. The sequence of conversations must continue with our farmer brothers, ”he said.
Shah attacked the opposition for spreading “misconceptions” about farm laws. He said the NDA government had done more for farmers during his tenure.
“Rahul Gandhi, who talks about the well-being of farmers, when he was his government … when he was Minister of Agriculture, Sharad Pawar, in 2013-14, how much was the budget for farmers? There was a Sonia-Manmohan congressional government, then the farmers’ budget was 21.9 billion rupees. Only 21,900 crore. In the last budget, Modiji took it from 21,900 crore to 134,399 crore. And are they asking for our account? Ulta chor kotwal ko daante? Shah said.
He said that “MSP was there, is there and will be there forever,” and that the UPA had no right to talk about it.
“For years, farmers wanted the MSP level to be one and a half times crop spending. Please tell me if that was a lawsuit or not. For 70 years, no one met this demand. Narendra Modi, between 2014 and 2019, made the MSP one and a half times the cost of the harvest and brought great relief to farmers. “
By criticizing the opposition for creating “shock” in farm laws, he assured farmers that these laws were there for their benefit. “There will be no harm to farmers. Neither the MSP will end, nor will anyone be able to take away their lands. I want to tell the farmer brothers, until the moment Narendra Modi is prime minister, no company will be able to steal their land. This is a promise from the BJP to you, ”he said.
Shah said that several committees had recommended these agricultural reforms, including “the 2001 Shankarlal Guru Committee, then Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who was very close to Manmohan Singh … Sharad Joshi Taskforce … it’s in the Swaminathan Commission report and when a committee was formed during Sharad Pawar’s meeting time, on this too, this was forwarded. “
“In Maharashtra, Sharad Pawar has created private markets for a long time. And now, he has started to be a crybaby, because the people of this country have rejected them and installed Narendra Modi. This commotion has been created, on behalf of farmers, in some places, ”he said.
“Even then, if the farmers ‘unions think, forget about the Opposition because they have political interests, but if the farmers’ unions think that a clause does not benefit the farmers, then the government is willing to talk to them with an open mind. Please come, come with the clauses of the laws, come to debate, and if there is any clause that is against farmers, Narendra Modi is willing to think about it with an open mind, ”said Shah.
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