February 28, 2016
Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh: The Indian government wants to double farmers’ income by 2022 to mark 75 years of independence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday, listing his administration’s agriculture initiatives to counter Opposition allegations of being corporate driven.
February 28, 2016
Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh: The Indian government wants to double farmers’ income by 2022 to mark 75 years of independence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday, listing his administration’s agriculture initiatives to counter Opposition allegations of being corporate driven.
Speaking at a farmers’ rally in ’s Modi hit out at the state government and alleged money allocated for the rural employment guarantee scheme was being misused.
He positioned himself as pro-farmer, saying since coming to power, his government worked to make agriculture scientific and economically viable.
“There are a lot of challenges before our farmers but these challenges can be transformed into opportunities. Farmers are the pride of this country,” he said.
One of India’s biggest and most politically crucial states, Uttar Pradesh goes to the polls next year.
The BJP that swept the state in the Lok Sabha polls is up against two formidable regional parties – the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party – in addition to the Congress, which has repeatedly dubbed the Centre as a regime run by big business.
The Indian government also courted controversy over proposed changes to the land acquisition law that the Opposition dubbed ‘anti-farmer’, prompting party vice-president Rahul Gandhi to term the Centre ‘suit boot ki sarkar’.
But in the past few months, Modi has countered that charge, unveiling a number of farm initiatives, including a crop insurance scheme and soil health card that can be used to regenerate land quality.
In Bareilly, Modi pushed for his flagship schemes and said he asked the state governments to funds from the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) to develop agriculture and improve water supply in rural areas.
“Farmers today want at least one member of their family to find other jobs because they know agriculture can’t sustain them. I request all state governments to give utmost priority to farmers’ issues,” he said.
Courtesy: HT
