PM Modi To Address 9 Crore Farmers, Release Rs 18,000 Crore Aid

On the occasion of the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be interacting with over nine crore farmers from six different states via video-conferencing today. Leaving no stone unturned, the BJP is making arrangements for the prime minister’s address. During the address, PM Modi will also be releasing the next instalment of the financial benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN). 

PM Modi will enable the transfer of more than Rs 18,000 crore to over nine crore beneficiary families.

However, the farmer unions alleged that the government's latest letter for talks is nothing but a propaganda against the peasants to create an impression they are not interested in dialogue, and asked it to put the scrapping of the new farm laws in the agenda to resume the parleys.

Several central ministers, MPs, MLAs and BJP office bearers will also be present among the electorate to listen to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s interaction. 

According to NDTV, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari will listen to PM Modi’s interaction with farmers from Assam’s Silchar, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal will be in Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, while Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani will be in her constituency Amethi and Union Minister for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Steel Dharmendra Pradhan will be in Jagatsinghpur in Odisha. Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is expected to be in Jaisalmer whereas Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will listen to the programme from Patna. Union Minister General (Retd) V K Singh will be in Ghaziabad, his parliamentary constituency.

However, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will listen to PM Modi’s speech in Delhi and Home Minister Amit Shah will be present at a gaushala in Delhi, from where he too will interact with a select group of farmers.

BJP National President JP Nadda has reportedly ordered “big screens to be arranged for listening to (the Prime Minister’s) address… at every block development centre”.

BJP general secretary Arun Singh has reportedly asked functionaries across the country to install big TV screens for PM Modi’s speech on the occasion.

The Union Agriculture ministry while extending a fresh invite, however,  made it clear that it would not be "logical" to include in the agenda any new demand related to minimum support price (MSP), saying it was out of the purview of the new farm laws.

 However, the unions said the MSP cannot be separated from the demand of repealing the contentious laws, asserting the issue of a legal guarantee for it is a key part of their agitation.

On Thursday, the Congress stepped up its attack on the government and petitioned President Ram Nath Kovind and demanded a joint session of Parliament to repeal the laws, with party leader Rahul Gandhi alleging that democracy is only "imaginary" in India.

Gandhi met the President and handed over a memorandum stated to have been signed by 2 crore farmers and demanded a repeal of the laws, saying they will not benefit the farmers or labourers. The Centre has rejected the demand for repeal of the laws, saying the reforms are beneficial to farmers.

Congress leaders earlier staged a sit-in protest outside the party headquarters in the capital after they were prevented from marching towards Rashtrapati Bhawan.  The leaders including Priyanka Gandhi were detained by the police for violating prohibitory orders.

 The BJP on its part challenged Rahul Gandhi for an open debate on what the Congress did for farmers' welfare when in power and what the Modi government has done for them, as it rejected his allegations against the Centre as "baseless and illogical".

 Union minister Prakash Javadekar accused the Congress of ignoring farmers' interests and keeping them poor to ensure cheap grain prices, and asserted that the Modi government empowered them by implementing the Swaminathan commission report to give them remunerative price through MSP.

 In a three-page letter written to 40 farmer leaders, Agriculture Ministry Joint Secretary Vivek Aggarwal said, "I again request you that the government has been discussing all issues with an open heart and good intention to end the protest, and will continue to do so. Kindly suggest a date and time (for the next round of talks." The previous five rounds of talks between the government and the unions have failed to break the deadlock.

With PTI Inputs