New Delhi, 10 February: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the farmers protest is sacred but its sanctity has been destroyed by ‘Andolan Jiviyo’ and professional agitators.
He said that the agitators and people of the opposition party are following the strategy of ‘neither do nor do let’.
The Prime Minister quoted a popular proverb from Bhojpuri saying ‘na khelab na khele deb, kheliyye bigadab’. That is, we will not play or let them play, they will spoil the game.
Modi, while replying to the motion of thanks on President’s address in Lok Sabha on Wednesday, detailed the farmers’ agrarian laws and the government’s efforts to strengthen the rural economy.
He said that the agricultural laws are the result of progressive thinking of the government, whose aim is ‘Sarvajan Hitay Sarvajan Sukhaay’. That is, agricultural laws are for the benefit of all and for the prosperity of all.
The Prime Minister said that the country and the country’s agricultural sector are very diverse. These laws will benefit more and less. The government will take necessary steps in relation to agricultural laws as per time and requirement.
The Prime Minister once again invited the farmers’ organizations for talks, describing agriculture sector and farming as an important part of the country’s cultural mainstream. He said, let us all come to the negotiating table and find a solution to the problem.
Modi, while explaining the importance of farming in the social life of the country, said that even the king used to plow in our place. Balarama, the elder brother of Lord Krishna and King Janak, have been an ideal hero associated with farming. We give equal importance not only to money but also to cereals (grains). Our folk culture and folklore are associated with the sowing and harvesting of crops. The celebration of festivals or festivals is also based on crops.
The Prime Minister attacked ‘Andolan Jiviyo or professional agitators’ in the Lok Sabha on the lines of his address in Rajya Sabha.
He said that they are misleading the farmers due to their selfishness and destroying the sanctity of the movement.
Referring to the incidents of damage to telecom towers in Punjab during the Kisan agitation and the capture of toll plazas on highways, the Prime Minister asked which form of this protest? Who is going to benefit from this? He said that the movement has its own sanctity and its importance, but the agitators have conspired to bring ruin through it. During the agitation, talks are being done in favor of rioters, communal poison spreaders, terrorists and Naxalites and there is a demand for their release from jail. Modi asked what this demand has to do with the farmer movement?
Stating that farm laws are the need of the hour, the Prime Minister said that the new laws are not binding. They do not force the farmers on where to sell the crop. The new laws provide farmers with an option to sell crops.
Modi said that an ordinance first came in relation to agricultural reforms and then legislation was enacted in Parliament. During the period of so many months, no market was closed nor was the purchase of the crop stopped on the basis of support price. He asked what is happening when all this does not happen.
He ridiculed the argument of the opposition and some peasant leaders as to why the government took these steps on its own when no one had demanded agricultural reforms. He said that his government believes in progressive ideology, not conservative thinking.
Referring to laws like child marriage, dowry system, triple talaq in the country after independence, he said that even though such laws were not demanded, such laws were made in the public interest as per the time.
Emphasizing his government’s intentions to break the status quo and inertia in the country, the Prime Minister said that he believes in making the farmer strong and self-reliant rather than retaining the cultivator or the demander. The farmer is a provider and if he is supported and supported, he can play an important role in the progress of the country, not only agriculture.
In another attack on the agitators, Modi said that there are some people in the country who say ‘right thing but when someone does the right thing by following the right thing then opposes it. The country suffers from such an attitude. ‘
Referring to the problems of small farmers, the Prime Minister said that large-scale investment is needed in the agricultural sector. New investment will create new employment opportunities.
He said that along with the government, the private sector should also invest in the agricultural economy.
Underlining the role of the private sector in the country’s development journey, Modi said that those who create wealth have their own importance. Only after the creation of wealth is its division possible.
Emphasizing the promotion of food grains as well as related agricultural products, the Prime Minister said that the status quo and inertia in the agricultural sector would have to be eradicated. Farmers will have to provide new markets and new technology. He said that stagnant water gets contaminated; running water is clean and beneficial.
In the midst of Modi’s address, Congress members walked out of the House shouting slogans for withdrawal of agricultural laws.
After the Prime Minister’s address, the Lok Sabha passed a vote of thanks on the President’s address.
