NEW DELHI: Following protests by farmers and various opposition parties against three new laws related to agriculture, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that those farm on fire The teams to show their anger were “insulting the farmers.”
The opposition was insulting farmers by setting fire to machinery and equipment that were “adored” by farmers, the prime minister said as he inaugurated six projects under the “Namami Gange” project to treat wastewater in Uttarakhand.
His comments came a day after a group of Indian Youth Congress workers set fire to a tractor in Delhi.
Criticizing the opposition, Modi alleged that those now opposed to the new farm laws spoke in favor of implementing the Minimum Livelihood Price (MSP) when they were in power, but never did.
“Our NDA government has done it according to MS Swaminathan Commission recommendations, “said the Prime Minister.
He accused the opposition, without naming anyone, of “misleading farmers on the MSP issue” and reiterated that the MSP would stick even when farmers would have the freedom to sell their products anywhere they wanted.
“Some people are unable to tolerate this freedom (from farmers). One more way to earn black money is over,” Modi said.
Modi again sought to allay fears about new laws on the agricultural sector and labor reforms.
“Many reforms related to farmers, workers and health were carried out during the monsoon session of Parliament. All these reforms will only strengthen workers, youth, women and farmers. The country is also witnessing how some people oppose these just for opposing them. ”
Parliament had approved the Draft Law on Trade and Trade in Agricultural Products (Promotion and Facilitation), 2020; The Farmers Agreement (Empowerment and Protection) on Price Guarantee and Agricultural Services Law, 2020; and Essential Commodities Bill (Amendment). After the president Ram Nath Kovind gave its consent to these, the government issued a notice in the newspaper about them on Sunday.
The prime minister also criticized previous governments for not doing enough to clean up the Ganges River.
“In recent decades, great initiatives have been taken to clean up the river. But those initiatives lacked public participation or vision for the future. As a consequence, the river was never cleaned.”
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