Those opposing farm Bills don't want farmers to have freedom of selling produce in open market: Modi

Ravi S Singh

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 29

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday dedicated to the nation six Namami Gange projects in Uttarakhand.

On the occasion, he targeted the Congress for having made it a “habit” to oppose the Union government’s reform measures, including the three agricultural laws enacted by Parliament during the Monsoon Session.

He asserted that the government would not be deterred by the opposition and the reform measures would continue. 

“Some people have made it part of their political agenda to oppose the government for the sake of opposition,” Modi said in a blistering attack on the Congress leadership without naming the party after launching the projects through video-conference.

“This stems from their becoming irrelevant,” Modi said, taking a jibe at the Congress leadership. “They do not want welfare of any section of society, be it youth, women, poor, farmers or defence forces.

Among the achievements he listed One Rank One Pension, 20 per cent reservation for economically poor, GST, Jan Dhan and Digital India campaigns, yoga being recognised by the UN, Balakot surgical strikes, purchase of Rafale jets and construction of Ram Temple at Ayodhya.

He questioned the Congress for having demanded proof of the surgical strike on a terrorist camp at Balakot.

Modi said the Congress government did nothing to strengthen the Army and the Indian Air Force, in spite of the latter raising concerns periodically.  

He said that a number of smaller parties had not turned against the nation though they were never in power. In contrast, a party which had been in power for long, and a family whose three-four generations had been at the helm, are feeling the pinch of being out of power for a few years, he said.

Referring to the farm laws, he said they would free the farmers from middlemen and brokers as they give them the freedom to sell the produce in the open market. The MSP regime would simultaneously continue, he said. Those opposing the laws did not want the farmer to sell his produce in the open market, he said.

Regarding the agitation against the laws, he said it was engineered by Congress leaders.

He said Aatma Nirbhar Bharat is in the interest of the country, and would continue.

He said the project to clean the Ganga during earlier governments had loopholes.

Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, he announced a project to connect all schools and anganwadi centres in the country with piped water within 100 days. 

The six projects inaugurated by Modi are mainly new and upgraded sewage treatment plants (STPs) in Hardwar and Rishikesh, besides a museum on the Ganga at Chandi Ghat (Hardwar). 

The STPs have been planned keeping needs of Uttarakhand till 2035.