PM Modi to ‘keep assuring farmers’, blames Opposition for misleading them
The PM said the opposition protesting against the very laws wanted to implement the same during their rule but could not.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday mounted a scathing attack on the Opposition parties and farmer organisations, asserting that there was a conspiracy being hatched “in and around Delhi” to confuse the agitating farmers.
The PM said the opposition protesting against the very laws wanted to implement the same during their rule but could not.
“(The agitating) farmers are being misled about the agriculture reforms. They are being fooled into believing that others will occupy their lands,” said the PM speaking in Hindi at Dhordo in Kutch in Gujarat after laying the foundation stone of the world’s largest hybrid renewable energy park, a desalination plant and a fully automated milk processing and packing plant.
The Prime Minister went on, without naming any party, “Those in the opposition and misleading farmers today were all for these very reforms during their rule, but they could not take a decision. Today when the country has taken a historical step, they are misleading the farmers.”
He added, “The Government of India is always committed to the welfare of the farmers and we will keep on reassuring the farmers and addressing their concerns.”
On the sidelines of the function, Modi also held an interaction with the local farmers, including Sikh cultivators who have been staying near the Indo-Pakistan border in Kutch since Independence. Some 5,000 Sikh families live in and around the Lakhpat region. He also met representatives of a local self-help group. The Gujarat Chief Minister was also present.
Asking researchers to look at Kutch as a case study, the Prime Minister recalled the devastating 2001 earthquake in the desert district and said the people there had converted tragedy into hope. PM Modi counted Kutch among the country’s fastest developing regions.
“Everyone rose from the destruction caused by the quake and see where they have brought Kutch,” he said, and referred to the renewable energy park he launched. This is one of the world’s biggest renewable farms with capacity to generate up to 30,000 MW of power.
“Gujarat was among the earliest to work on strengthening solar energy capacities. Today Kutch has the world’s largest hybrid renewable energy park. It is almost as big as Singapore and Bahrain. It is built on 70,000 hectare land, larger than many big cities in the country,” the Prime Minister said.
He added that India featured in the top three among 144 countries in the Clean Energy Investment rankings. PM Modi said, “The country has shown a path to the entire world and is leading the fight against climate change.”
Remembering Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his 70th death anniversary, the Prime Minister said Patel’s statue in Kevadia in Narmada district was a source of inspiration for the people of the country.
