Punjab farmers being misguided: Prakash Javadekar

CHENNAI: Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Friday said farmers in other parts of the country are happy with the three farm laws and only those from Punjab are agitating as they are being deliberately misguided. Addressing a farmers’ meeting at Maraimalainagar, he said, “Farmers in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are not protesting. Punjab farmers are protesting because they are being misguided by a mischievous campaign. Part of the farmers from Punjab are agitating despite deriving benefit from these laws.

During the past four years, they have been getting MSP for agricultural products more than what they got during the UPA regime. Their income has doubled, still they are agitating.” The whole country is debating the farm laws because some farmers and their political masters have launched an agitation in New Delhi creating an impression as if it were a national-level protest. 

“The main demand of farmers over the past decades was  remunerative prices for their products. The issue was how to decide the prices. Dr MS Swaminathan came out with a solution, but, the DMK and the Congress did not implement it when they were in power for 10 years. The Modi government has accepted the recommendations and most of the farmers are happy as they are getting remunerative MSP for their products,” Javadekar added. 

Lashing out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his criticism against these legislation, Javadekar challenged him for an open debate. He also said the contentious Minimum Support Price and Agricultural Produce Market Committee would continue. “During the 10-year UPA rule, the Congress and the DMK had extended only Rs 53,000 crore as a one-time loan waiver for farmers. But, Modi is depositing Rs 2,000 directly into the bank account of farmers.

Already, a sum of Rs 1.2 lakh crore has been paid directly into their bank accounts. This also includes digital deposits of Rs 18,000 crore to nine crore farmers by the Prime Minister on Friday,” Javadekar added. He  also released a book “Modi Government that protects farmers’ wellbeing” on the occasion. The BJP’s State unit president L Murugan received the first copy.

Later, while talking to reporters, Javadekar skipped repeated questions on whether the BJP has accepted Edappadi K Palaniswami as chief ministerial candidate of the alliance for the 2021 Assembly elections and on the BJP’s tie-up with the AIADMK. To questions on whether the BJP has endorsed the AIADMK naming Palaniswami as the candidate Javadekar said reporters have the freedom to interpret his stance. “You  have the freedom to say - I refused to answer or I am silent,” Javadekar said.

Asked about Rajinikanth being called the ‘B’ team of the BJP, he said, “I will not go into diversions.’ On why BJP leaders have suddenly started talking about AIADMK founder M G Ramachandran, Javadekar said, “Such icons were always being remembered by our party members, and this time, you have noticed it.”