Modi slams Opp for ‘misleading’ farmers on farm laws; Cong, TMC stage walkout
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday once again defended the three controversial farm laws and accused the Opposition of “misleading” the farmers while calling their protest as a “planned strategy” and reiterating his “andolan jivi” jibe against the agitators. Upset with the PM’s remarks, the Congress and the TMC staged walkout from the Lok Sabha.
“Kisan Andolan” is sacred, but when “andolan jivi” hijack it and show pictures of those jailed for terrorism, what purpose does it serve, the Prime Minister said in the Lok Sabha while speaking on the vote of thanks on President’s address.
PM Modi had used the term “andolan jivi” first during his speech in the Rajya Sabha.
The Prime Minister invited agitating farmers to “sit across and resolve the issue” as he asserted that the laws offer “one more option” to the agriculturalists to sell their produce and are not compulsory for everyone to follow.
Against the backdrop of the ongoing farmers’ stir on the borders of Delhi and deadlock in the talks with the Government, Modi stressed the need to move ahead with the farm reforms by breaking the long-held status quo in farming which he said has turned “non-remunerative”.
Modi first asked, “Whether new laws taken away the rights available in the old system…?” He then himself answered saying “ye kanun kisi ke liye bandhan nahin hai..this is optional where you have benefits…Virodh ka karan nahin banta”. The PM speech was disrupted by slogan-shouting Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chouwdhury and his party MPs who later stages a walkout from the House.
The motion of thanks was passed by the House after the Prime Minister concluded his address.
The Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) reacted angrily to the PM’s remarks and said: “We condemn the charge made by the PM and we would like to remind him that it was andolan jivi who helped India break free from colonial rulers and so we are proud of being andolan jivi. It is the BJP and its forefathers who have never participated in an agitation against the British. They were always afraid of people’s movements and that is why they are afraid of people’s movements even now,” the SKM said in a statement.
Modi hit out at the Congress for adopting two separate models on the vote of thanks debate in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha, participating in the former and boycotting the latter and described it as a “confused party that could do no good to the country”.
The Prime Minister said dialogue with farmers even when it was restricted in Punjab was on and “we made all efforts to clear doubts on the farm laws.”
“If some gaps or lacunae is there, nothing harm in changing it if it is convincing, we will change it”, he said.
Modi said amid interruptions that in fact Minimum Support Price (MSP) increased after implementation of the new farm laws. He said there is no restriction on the old ‘mandis’ and more money allotted in the Budget to modernise them.
He quoted kisan leader from Western Uttar Pradesh (from where farm leader Rakesh Tikait too hails) and former Prime Minister. Charan Singh from his book Bharat ki Arthniti to buttress his case for new farm laws where Singh advocates removal of restrictions in the trading of farm produce and creating a single farm market in the country.
Taking a swipe at what he called ‘andolanjivi’, Modi said the country need to be saved from them who he said attacked Toll-plaza and destroyed telecom wires during agitation.
“This section believes that talking is right thing, they only believe in talking and hate those who do right things”, the Prime Minister said and pointed that the same group “speaks of gender justice but opposes triple talaq, speaks for environment but supports parauli-burners”.
The Prime Minister said our country is very diverse and one should not think that any new thing will have 100 per cent acceptance. “We are not feudal”, he said.
When TMC MP Saugata Roy said, “Kisan does not want new laws”, the Prime Minister said, “I am saying the same..they can adopt the old system”.
Modi, however, said status quo need to be changed if India wants to have its share and standing in “new post-coronavirus world order.”
Accusing Opposition leaders of misleading farmers and indulging in “double-talk”, the Prime Minister cited NCP leader and Agriculture Minister (Sharad Pawar) who he said had advocated change in the ‘mandi-system’ and need to break their “nexus”.
Opposition parties in some States too changed farm laws but now opposing new farm laws, he said and likened this attitude to “Na kheloonga, na khelne doonga aur khel bigadunga” (neither I will do good, nor let others do the same), he said amidst a peel of laughter in the Treasury Benches.
The Prime Minister spoke of several infrastructure projects undertaken by his Government within the country and along borders including those on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
He said work is in progress on 75 bridges along LAC (on the India-China border) and also spoke of high morale of county’s Army to defend the country.
Thursday, 11 February 2021 | PNS | New Delhi
