New laws met long-awaiting demand of farmers: PM Modi
New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday addressed the nation via his monthly radio show – Mann Ki Baat – in which he mentioned how Centre has fulfilled the long-awaited demand of farmers with the new law. His statement comes at a time when thousands of farmers are protesting against the new farm bill and have marched to Delhi from various states.
"The agricultural reforms in the past few days have also now opened new doors of possibilities for our farmers," PM Modi said. "The demands that have been made by farmers for years, that every political party, at some point or the other, made the promise to fulfill, those demands have been met," PM Modi added.
"After a lot of deliberation, the Parliament of India gave a legal form to the agricultural reforms. These reforms have not only served to unshackle our farmers but also given them new rights and opportunities," he said, adding that "In just a short span of time, these new rights have begun to address the sufferings of our farmers".
Congress condemned his remarks on the show .
"If the head of the nation backs the three black laws, then how is it possible that farmers' issues are raised on Mann Ki Baat. When the farmers are at roads, power to run the country has been given to a few capitalists," the Congress said.
PM Modi gave an example of a farmer who was not paid for his corn crop for over four months in Maharashtra.
"Buy the crop from the farmer, keep the payment pending for months on end -- probably this was the long standing tradition that the buyers of corn were following... In this situation, the new farm laws that were passed in September came to his aid. Under this law, it was decided that all dues of the farmers should be cleared within three days of procurement, failing which, the farmer can lodge a complaint," he said.
Meanwhile, farmers have lodged their disagreement with the new law and have been protesting at the outskirts of the Delhi borders. They rejected Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s proposal to conduct open air talks and shift their protest to government-designated locations.
