Lucknow, Feb 6 (IANS): Sidharth Nath Singh, a Cabinet minister in the Uttar Pradesh government, said the opposition parties are instigating the farmers and trying to regain political ground.
Singh, who is also the UP government spokesperson, targeted the opposition parties in a statement, saying that they are busy in misleading the farmers to serve their own political interests. From the time of independence till 2014, those who were the primary reason for the destruction of farmers are today standing in solidarity with them. For the first time after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014, various schemes were launched keeping the interest of farmers in mind.
Projects pending for decades were included in the Pradhan Mantri Sinchai Yojana and finally completed. Many other schemes are also on the verge of completion.
The UP Minister said the Congress sat on the Swaminathan Commission report for several years but it was finally implemented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. At present, farmers are getting 1.5 times the price for their crops. Farmers used to be beaten with lathis (sticks) for demanding basic agricultural investments like manure and seeds. Now the people do not see such reports anymore.
Prime Minister Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath are committed to doubling the income of farmers for which constant efforts are being made. The farmers are now happier than ever before. The opposition which kept the farmers in disarray and treated them as a vote bank is not happy with the prosperity of the farmers. Therefore, they are instigating the farmers but will never be successful in such attempts.
Singh said special care has been taken of the villages and farmers in the recently presented General Budget. Infrastructure fund in rural areas has been increased to Rs 40,000 crore. As much as 1,000 new and modern mandi systems have been made from which the farmers would benefit and would help them become 'Aatmanirbhar'. Farming would grow as a profitable field. Under the PM SWAMITVA scheme, people in the villages would have their own land and property documents and nobody would be able to steal them. Based on this, they would easily get loans, too.
He said during the 'Chauri Chaura' centenary celebrations, Prime Minister Modi has also said that previous governments used to consider farmers as a ledger account of vote bank. Announcements were made in the interest of farmers without being implemented. Now the schemes are being implemented as things are changing.
As this change is visible on the ground, the worry of the opposition is natural. He appealed to the farmers that instead of being influenced, they must see who is genuinely concerned about them and who is using them for their own political benefits.