Farm leaders hail PM Modi’s stand against US pressure

Leaders of major farmer organisations from across the country on Tuesday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “far-sighted” decision to shield the country’s agriculture and dairy sectors from foreign entry, calling it a historic move to safeguard rural livelihoods.

At a meeting convened at Subrahmanyam Hall, Pusa Campus, in the National Capital, cultivators and union representatives expressed unanimous support for the government’s stand in trade negotiations, which they said had resisted “American pressure” and upheld the interests of farmers, livestock rearers and fishermen.

Bharatiya Kisan Sangh leaders and other farmer representatives credited both the Prime Minister and Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for taking “bold” steps in the face of external demands.

“India will not compromise their interests at any cost,” said Dharmendra Choudhary, National President of the Indian Farmer Chaudhary Charan Singh Organisation, adding that the move strengthened self-reliance in agriculture and rural India.

Virendra Lohan of the Chhattisgarh Youth Progressive Farmers’ Association said the refusal to open agriculture and dairy to American companies had “echoed in every field, village, and cowshed”, signalling that “no foreign power can ever control” Indian farmers.

Dharmendra Malik urged the government to “stand firm” on its free trade policy stance, while Kirpa Singh Natthuwala said the decision had filled cultivators nationwide with pride.

Union Agriculture Minister Chouhan told the gathering, which he described as “a miniature India”, that serving farmers was “worship of God”.

He announced plans for a new law to crack down on counterfeit fertilisers, seeds, and chemicals, and noted that digital payments under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana had been made to farmers in Rajasthan just a day earlier.

Highlighting the Prime Minister’s “Nation First” resolve, Chouhan recalled the recent cancellation of the Indus Waters Treaty after the Pahalgam terror attack, calling it another example of strong, nation-centric decision-making.

Farmer leaders said they stood ready to back further steps to ensure India’s agriculture remains beyond the reach of foreign corporate control.