Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said farmers are at the centre of his government’s growth and development vision.
After inaugurating the 135-km Eastern Peripheral Expressway in Baghpat, a day before the crucial byelection in neighbouring Kairana, he sought to woo farmers, a large chunk of the electorate in the Kairana Lok Sabha constituency.
Direct transfer
Addressing a public meeting in Khekhda village, Mr. Modi said his government decided to provide ₹5.50 per quintal in financial support to cane farmers in the State struggling to get dues worth ₹12,000 crore from mills. “This money will not be given to the mills but transferred directly to the bank accounts of the cane farmers,” he said.
“My government is working on the concept of Bharat Uday [rise of India] through gramoday [growth of rural areas]. The farmers of my country, those who are food-providers, are at the centre of our concept of gramoday . This year, we made a budgetary allocation of ₹14,00,000 crore to strengthen the rural and agricultural infrastructure,” he said.
“I want to assure all cane farmers that the government is sensitive to their problems and we are committed to sorting out their troubles with all the commitment and promptness,” said the Prime Minister, hours after farmer Udayveer Singh died in the Baraut area of Baghpat while protesting against the delay in payment of cane dues.
Mr. Modi said the government was working on the Prime Minister’s Kisan Sampada Yojna in which ₹6,000 crore would be invested. This scheme would ensure that the crop did not go waste while it waited to be sold after harvest.
He said that to clean up the air and ease congestion, the government was building expressways around Delhi. This was expected to cut back pollution by 30%.
Mr. Modi slammed the Congress and said the party was opposing development in the name of opposing the Prime Minister.
“Those who worship a family can never worship democracy. The Congress does not believe in institutions. When international agencies praise India, they raise questions even on that. These people questioned even the courage of the Army which mounted surgical strikes,” he said.
“When we bring schemes for the poor and Dalits, these people create obstacles,” Mr. Modi charged.
“The Congress accuses the media of being partisan. It is opposing the country in the name of opposing Modi. They have only one family but the entire country is my family,” the PM said.
Mr. Modi talked about sub-categorisation of OBC reservation so that the extremely backward castes among the OBCs get the benefit of the affirmative action.
He accused the Opposition of lying about the Supreme Court’s decisions.
“It is a privilege for my government that we are developing five places associated with Babasaheb Ambedkar as Panj Tirth (five places of pilgrimage). We are also constituting special courts to hear cases of atrocities against Dalits.”
He said whether it was 7.5 crore toilets built under Swaksh Bharat Abhiyan or 4 crore gas connections given under the Ujjawala scheme, the government was working for women’s empowerment and betterment of their lives.
He said law and order had improved substantially under the Yogi Adityanath government and criminals were surrendering.
