Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said that under the BJP’s “double engine” government, a “new Uttar Pradesh” has emerged where farmers’ hard work is admired and their efforts also bear fruit.
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“It is a new U.P. under ‘New India’ where farmers and their efforts are respected. The result of their hard work is reflected in achieving a nine percent growth rate in agricultural development,” said Mr. Adityanath, after unveiling a 51-foot-tall statue of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh in Bilari block of Moradabad district on the birth anniversary of the former PM.
The U.P. CM also honoured 16 farmers in the Kisan Mahasammelan and expressed gratitude to the Jat Mahasabha and the Chaudhary Charan Singh Memorial Committee, for inviting him.
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Lauding the contribution of the former PM, who also served as the Chief Minister of U.P., Mr. Adityanath added: “Chaudhary saheb had a profound understanding of the Indian economy. He believed that the economic well-being of our country is fully linked to the prosperity of the farming community and the journey to India’s prosperity passes through villages and agricultural fields.”
Hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi for transforming the agricultural sector, the U.P. CM said that significant improvement has been carried out by Mr. Modi in the lives of farmers. “We are witness to a significant transformation in the lives of farmers over the past nine-and-a-half years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji. Initiatives such as the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana have played a pivotal role in opening doors to prosperity for farmers,” he said.
Mr. Adityanath added that in U.P. in the past, Minimum Support Price (MSP) was only announced, while under the current “double engine” government it has been successfully implemented. “Farmers have gained respect through initiatives like Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi, with crores of rupees being directly credited to their accounts,” said the U.P. CM.
The statue unveiling event caught the limelight after the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) alleged that the ruling dispensation is doing it to pacify the farmers, who are angered with the ruling party, ahead of the upcoming parliamentary polls. He added that if the BJP and U.P. CM want to give real respect to farmers and Chaudhary Charan Singh, they should confer Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, on the former PM.
Chaudhary Charan Singh is considered one of the leading voices on farmers issues post-independence and also hailed as the tallest leader from the Jat community. The community is electorally significant and dominant in Western U.P., Haryana and Rajasthan. It is sizeable in numbers in at least 25 parliamentary seats across North India. The late leader served as the 5th prime minister of India between 28 July 1979 and 14 January 1980, apart from holding various key portfolios in the Union Government.