Majority of farmers support new agriculture laws, says Narendra Tomar

BHOPAL: Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Wednesday said that the government will soon find a solution to the ongoing farmers’ protest. He said a majority of farmers in country, including Madhya Pradesh, are supporting the new agriculture laws but the opposition is misleading cultivators from Punjab and that is why they have been agitating.
“A majority of farmers in the country are supporting the new farm laws. Some farmer unions and organisations have met me on this issue and urged me not to repeal these laws as they will empower farmers across the country. Farmers of Punjab are a little angry, but there is continuous dialogues with them. We will find a solution very soon and the agitation will end,” Tomar told the media ahead of BJP’s campaign to educate farmers on the newly-enacted laws in Gwalior.
The Union minister further said that the opposition parties are misleading the farmers but they will not succeed. “Farmers across the country are welcoming the laws. The government was open to talks with agriculturists, but Congress and Left parties are bent on maligning the image of the government. Congress had announced in its 2019 manifesto about introducing new agriculture laws, but when the Modi government has done exactly that, they are having problems,” he said.
“At a time when the opposition is trying to mislead the farmers, peasants from MP have supported the decision taken by Prime Minister Modi in the interest of the farmers. I heartily welcome and thank the farmers of the state,” said Tomar, who was accompanied by Rajya Sabha member Jyotiraditya Scindia during the ‘kisan sammelan’.
Recalling PM Modi’s address to the nation, Tomar said, “After coming to power in 2014, Modi ji had clearly stated that the mandate was to transform the country and not just to run a government, and strong decisions had to be taken to achieve the purpose. When the government took decisions such as demonetisation and the implementation of GST, the opposition had said the government would not get re-elected, but in 2019, BJP returned with more seats.”
Tomar said the Centre had decided upon MSP on the basis of a report of the M S Swaminathan Committee. “Earlier, the MSP was given only for wheat and rice, but now it has been given to many other crops also,” he said. “There are mostly small farmers in the country and recently the government allocated Rs1.5 lakh crore so that they can do worldclass farming, and to achieve this purpose, it was necessary to change the old agri laws,” he said.