Farmers Movement Archive

Govt ready to talk to farmers even at midnight: Agriculture minister on bills

NEW DELHI: Offering to hold talks with farmers to clear apprehensions about the farm bills, BJP on Thursday accused Congress of "double-faced" politics and said Rahul Gandhi should first disassociate his party from its 2019 election manifesto in which it had promised what the Modi government has done. At a press conference, senior BJP leader and agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar reiterated the government's commitment to farmers' welfare and said the new measures would bring them remunerative prices for their produce. Tomar said the government was open to holding talks with farmers. "If any farmer wants to speak to any government representative on these bills even at midnight, we are ready," he added. He claimed that opposition members' criticism during debates was never about the provisions of these proposed laws but on things they did not have or other unconnected issues. Reacting to the demand that there should be a law to ensure that farmers are not paid less than the minimum support price when the proposed laws come into force, he said MSP was always an administrative decision of the government and would remain so. "Why did Congress not bring a law during its 50 years of rule if it thinks this was necessary?" he asked. He also cited reports of various commissions and reported views of Sharad Pawar, who was agriculture minister in the UPA government, to assert that the farm bills were in line with their recommendations. Asked about Rahul’s charge that the Modi government had harmed farmers and was now doing "PR", Tomar said the Congress leader should first withdraw his party's manifesto if he wanted to oppose these bills. If he agreed with the Congress manifesto of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, then he should join efforts in educating farmers, he added. Congress was "misleading" farmers and practising "double-faced" politics, he said, adding that this would weaken the party and the nation as well. Highlighting the Modi government's pro-farmers policies, he said it had given Rs 7 lakh crore to them through purchase of their produce in its six years in office, which was more than double of the UPA's 10 years. Tomar said good people had ceased to matter in Congress, and those leading it had ceased to matter in the country. “Farmers, so far, were forced to sell their produce in mandis. In Punjab, there's 8.5% tax in the mandis on several items. Now, through these bills, farmers will be able to sell their produce even outside the ambit of the mandi, even outside their state at any price they choose,” Tomar said. Watch Farm bills: Govt ready to talk to farmers even at midnight, says Narendra Singh Tomar

The Times of India

2020-09-25

India