Ranchi: Former chief minister Raghubar Das on Tuesday said that the ongoing stir by farmers along the borders of Delhi was being orchestrated by anti-national elements in connivance with the Congress and other parties opposed to the BJP, echoing sentiments expressed by Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar recently.
While addressing the Ranchi leg of the kisan sammelan held in Sukurhuttu in Kanke block, organised as part of BJP’s statewide campaign in favour of the newly implemented farm laws by the Union government, Das said that farmers in Jharkhand and several other states were happy with the new laws.
Two other former BJP chief ministers — Babulal Marandi and Arjun Munda — also participated in similar programmes held in Deoghar and Seraikela, respectively, while former MP Ravindra Rai addressed BJP workers in Dhanbad and another senior party leader, Dineshanand Goswami, did so in Palamu.
Das, who is currently BJP’s national vice-president, said, “The Narendra Modi-led government has brought new laws to empower farmers and protect them from middlemen. However, opposition parties and anti-national elements are misleading certain sections of farmers by claiming that the new laws will end minimum support price (MSP) and weed out agricultural mandis. The reality is exactly the opposite. In the new laws, along with existing provisions, farmers will now have the liberty to sell their produce in places of their choice.”
“They (opposition) are upset because they mostly acted as middlemen to dupe farmers,” Das said, adding that the Congress and the Left parties, among others, were hand in gloves with anti-national forces. “They have been doing so for many years. This time, they are misusing farmers,” he said, adding that farmers in Jharkhand were happy with the new laws.
Hailing the NDA government under Modi’s leadership, he said that the Centre was working towards empowering the marginalised, farmers and the poor in the last six years. “As far as farmers are considered, the rate of MSP has been increased 1.5 times, and for the first time, the Union government began giving direct benefit transfer to farmers through the Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme. In Jharkhand, too, we began CM Krishi Ashirwad Yojana to give financial assistance to farmers during my tenure but the mahagathbandhan government discontinued it soon after coming to power. Tell me, who is anti-farmer?” Das said. He later also had lunch with the farmers.
The Congress, which is a part of the ruling alliance, termed BJP’s kisan sammelans as a sign of nervousness. “If the Centre is really serious about the welfare of farmers, they should speak with the latter and address their problems. However, rather than doing so, they are trying to defame farmers by calling them anti-nationals,” state Congress president Rameshwar Oraon said. Attacking state BJP leaders, Oraon added, “BJP MPs and MLAs should question their leadership at the Centre rather than trying to defend the act of bringing laws without consultation with the state in violation of cooperative federalism.”