In Shirdi, Modi questions Pawar’s farmer welfare efforts
The Hindu
The Prime Minister mentioned PM Kisan Samman Nidhi under which small farmers received ₹2,60,000 crore, including ₹26,000 crore for the small farmers of Maharashtra.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday criticised some individuals from Maharashtra for engaging in only politics under the guise of advocating for farmers.
His comments were aimed at the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar, who previously held the Agriculture portfolio in the UPA government (2004 to 2014).
Mr. Modi said that his government was committed to the empowerment of farmers and highlighted the transfer of Minimum Support Price (MSP) money for their produce directly into farmers’ bank accounts.
Speaking at an event in the temple town of Shirdi in Ahmednagar district after inaugurating and laying the foundation stone for various development projects worth about ₹7,500 crore, Mr. Modi said: “Some people in Maharashtra only did politics in the name of farmers. A senior leader of Maharashtra served as the country’s Agriculture Minister. I personally respect him, but what has he done for farmers?” He did not mention Mr. Pawar by name.
During Mr. Pawar’s tenure as Union Agriculture Minister, he said that farmers had to rely on intermediaries, resulting in lengthy delays in receiving their payments. “For months, farmers had to await their payments. Our government gave MSP money directly into the bank accounts of farmers,” Mr. Modi said.
The Prime Minister said that in the seven years foodgrains worth ₹13.5 lakh crore was procured under MSP while this figure was a mere ₹3.5 lakh crore during the tenure of a senior leader in the earlier government. Oilseed and pulses worth ₹1,15,000 crore were procured after 2014, compared to ₹500-600 crore worth MSP procurement earlier. The direct benefit transfer had removed corruption and leakage, he said.
The development projects inaugurated by Mr. Modi include an Ayush hospital at the Ahmednagar Civil Hospital; electrification of Kurduwadi-Latur Road railway section (186 km); 3rd and 4th railway lines connecting Jalgaon to Bhusaval (24.46 km); four-laning of Sangli to Borgaon section of NH-166 (Package-I); and additional facilities at the Manmad terminal of the Indian Oil Corporation Limited. He also laid the foundation stone for the maternal and child health wing at the Ahmednagar Civil Hospital and distributed Ayushman cards and Svamitva cards to beneficiaries.
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