BJP targets participation of one crore farmers to hear Modi during money transfer programme

NEW DELHI: In a major outreach to farmers, the BJP has made plans to ensure participation of over one crore of them at thousands of venues across the nation on Friday when Prime Minister Narendra Modi transfers Rs 18,000 crore to nine crore farmers and interacts with a section of them.

BJP leaders, from Union ministers to its MPs, MLAs, all elected representatives besides organisational members, will fan out across the country to attend the programme and speak to farmers as well.

The exercise comes at a time when some farmer unions have been agitating for weeks at Delhi's borders against the three recently enacted farm laws and seeking that the legislations be repealed, a demand rejected by the government which has described them as beneficial for farmers.

It coincides with former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's birth anniversary which the BJP observes every year as "good governance day" since it came to power at the Centre in 2014.

BJP general secretary Arun Singh told reporters that the party has made arrangements for farmers' participation in more than 19,000 venues across the country, and the party's members will also be present.

In Uttar Pradesh alone, more than 3,000 venues have been chosen, he said.

While one crore farmers will directly participate, over five crore of them will hear Modi's speech, he claimed, saying the party will observe the exercise like a festival.

Home Minister Amit Shah will attend the programme in Mehrauli in the national capital while Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be in Sector 15 in Dwarka here.

Despite protests in some places, the country's farmers have been standing with Modi, Singh said, citing a number of government schemes to benefit them.

The government's procurement of tur dal increased by a whopping 74 times during the first five years of the Modi government compared to 2009-2014 during the UPA's rule, he said.

Singh added that the Modi government spent Rs eight lakh crore on the purchase of paddy and wheat in its first five years compared to merely Rs 3.74 lakh crore during the UPA's 2009-14 term.

The Modi government had last year launched a scheme to transfer Rs 6,000 annually to every farmer in three installments.