The government and Parliament have great respect for farmers who are voicing their views on the three farm bills, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday and asserted that he holds their agitation “sacred” while making a fresh appeal to agitating farmers to resume talks with the Centre.
In his reply in Lok Sabha to a discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, PM Modi said, “I consider the Kisan Andolan to be ‘pavitra’ (sacred). But when ‘andolanjivis’ hijack sacred protests, showcase photos of those jailed for serious offences like terrorism, does it serve any purpose? Not allowing toll plazas to work, destroying telecom towers in Punjab, does it serve a ‘pavitra andolan’ (sacred agitation).”
PM Modi said, “The sacred agitation of these farmers is ruined by ‘andolanjivis’ and not ‘andolankaris’. So, it is necessary for the nation to differentiate between ‘andolanjivi’ and ‘andolankari’,” he said. The PM also said, “There is a big group of people who believe in ‘talking the right thing’ but object to ‘doing the right thing’.” He also made a fresh appeal to agitating farmers to come to the table for talks before concluding his speech.
He staunchly defended the three contentious farms laws and made it clear that the new system under these laws was not compulsory and only provided more options. PM Modi also attacked the opposition parties for “misleading” farmers, saying those who are disrupting the House are doing so as per a “well-planned strategy” as they are unable to digest that people can see the truth.
During his over 90-minute speech, most of which was devoted to the farmers’ issues, Modi said his government is open to amending the laws if there are any shortcomings, noting that the farmer unions were offered to have a clause by clause discussion on all three Acts to address their apprehensions.
With agitating farmer unions criticising his use of ‘andolanjivi’ during his speech in Rajya Sabha on Monday, the Prime Minister sought to make a distinction between ‘andolankari’ (agitators) and ‘andolanjivi’, a barb for people who jump from one protest to another.
Noting that his government and the House respect the farmers protesting the newly enacted laws, he said this is the reason why top Union ministers have been talking to them.
Hitting out at the protesting Congress members, he said those who are disrupting the House are doing so as per a “well-planned strategy” as they are unable to digest that people are seeing through the truth. “Through their games, the trust of the people can never be won,” he said, amidst protests by the opposition members.
Congress members in their speech could not highlight any substantive flaw against these laws, he said and accused the opposition of misleading farmers. Taking on the critics of the farm laws, he said they have been fuelling fear among farmers that it will lead to the weakening of the mandi system and MSP mechanism. “After the laws were passed by Parliament, no mandi was shut. In fact, more allocation has been made in the budget to modernise the farm mandis and boost the infrastructure. Likewise, MSP has remained. Procurement on MSP has remained. These facts can’t be ignored,” he said.
PM Modi also hit out at opposition members who had asked why these Acts when they were not demanded by farmers, saying he was shocked at the argument and asserted that his government believes in continuously empowering people. No one had demanded laws against dowry or triple ‘talaq’, he said, adding that they were enacted as a requirement for a progressive society. His government believes in progressive policies and not regressive ones, he said.
