Post news network
Bargarh: Prime Minister Narendra Modi underscored the initiatives of his government for the welfare of the farming community what with irrigation scheme, crop insurance and soil health card scheme. The PM said this while addressing a rally Sunday without announcing any concrete package for the farmers.
He said his government’s aim was to double the farmers’ income by 2022, when the country will celebrate 75 years of independence. He asked farmers to focus on areas such as fisheries, animal husbandry, honey bee and timber farming to increase income.
He said even the Start-Up India scheme launched by him recently could be used for the development of the farm sector as it was not confined to hi-tech sectors like IT only.
Modi said his government was giving thrust to the farm sector as he was convinced the country can have second Green Revolution in which Orissa should take the lead. He said the eastern region is full of natural resources including water and has the potential to produce food grains to feed the entire nation.
‘‘Orissa has so many rivers like Mahanadi, Brahmani, Baitarani and others. The state is blessed with water resources. If Orissa wants it can be number one in agriculture,’’ Modi said.
He also alleged some NGOs and black-marketers were conspiring to defame him and destabilise his government. He said it does not go down well with some people that a tea seller had become the prime minister.
‘‘You would have seen there are attacks on me all the time. They are not able to digest how Modi became the prime minister, how a ‘chai wala’ became the prime minister,’’ Modi said.
His remarks came while he spoke about the black marketing of urea. ‘‘In 2014, some chief ministers and MPs wrote to me on urea shortage. It is more so,’’ he said, ‘‘ever since neem coated urea was introduced.’’
‘‘Neem coating of urea causes problem for some, but it will benefit the farmers. What we do troubles some but farmers will benefit,’’ said Modi.
He said some NGOs were against him after they were asked about the financial help received from foreign countries. ‘‘The moment we started asking them about their financial transactions, they were united and said ‘Modi ko maaro’ as Modi is seeking accounts from us,’’ he said.
He said the country should know the spending of each paisa the NGOs got from abroad.
Meanwhile, Sambalpur MLA Raseswari Panigrahi, said Modi has not addressed the farmers’ issues, but has visited the place to create a base for his saffron party in the BJD stronghold.
Paschima Orissa Krushak Sangathan Samanwaya Samiti convener Ashok Kumar Pradhan, however, said there is no new package for drought-hit farmers of the region in Modi’s speech.
He, however, skipped questions related farmers’ suicides, minimum support price of grains and central package for farmers.
