Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday alleged that disgruntled NGOs and black-marketeers were conspiring to destabilise the Government and “defame” him and asserted that he will not bow to any machinations.
He said “some people” were not able to digest the fact that a “chai wala” (tea seller) has become the Prime Minister and hence were conspiring all the time to bring him down.
“You would have seen in the recent past, there is attack on me all the time. Some people are continuously at it. They are not able to digest how Modi became the Prime Minister, how a chai wala became the Prime Minister, they cannot swallow it,” a combative Modi said addressing a farmers’ rally here.
Without naming anybody or any specific instance, he said he had taken some steps because of which “these people are facing problems”.
He made the remarks while talking about the neem-coating of urea being done to avoid its pilferage and routing to chemical factories like in the past.
“Since we have done neem-coating, will those chemical factories which were looting not be angry with ModiIJ If something is against Modi, will they not help itIJ Will they not shout against Modi,” he asked the gathering.
The Prime Minister said that NGOs receive money from foreign countries and his Government was seeking the account. The Prime Minister also said India’s second Green Revolution can be achieved in Odisha, which can be the country’s number one agriculturally-rich State.
He regretted that Odisha lags behind in the farming sector despite the fact that it has the second richest water resources after Uttar Pradesh among all States.
Irrigation is the primary responsibility to enhance farm production and farmers’ prosperity, he pointed out. Other States, including Odisha, should follow the example set by the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led Madhya Pradesh Government in the development of irrigation, he said.
Modi was addressing a massive farmers’ rally organised by the BJP in Bargarh, known as the State’s rice bowl.
The Prime Minister said India is aiming at doubling farmers’ income by 2022, the year when the country would celebrate the 75th anniversary of its Independence.
Modi mainly sought to motivate farmers to take advantage of the insurance policy introduced by his Government, namely, the Prime Minister’s Fasal Bima Yojana.
He called upon youths to motivate at least 50 per cent of farmers of a village to avail the insurance scheme.
Advising the farmers to shun the traditional way of farming, Modi said farmers should resort to three-layer farming. He suggested the peasants to embrace animal husbandry, honey production, fisheries and poultry farming.
Raising concern over the urea crisis in the country last year, he said no Chief Minister or MP wrote to him in 2015 seeking urea fertilisers for farmers. “However, the Government took steps to check the black marketing. The chemical factories were looting the urea for industrial use. But we made the urea neem-coated which can only be used in farm land,” he said. The Prime Minister also stressed on Centre’s new Soil Health Card to ascertain the condition of soil before cultivation.
Modi remembered the luminaries of western Odisha, Veer Surendra Sai, Kunjel Singh, Matho Singh, Gangadhar Meher, Bhima Bhoi, Birsa Munda and so on for their contributions for making of modern Odisha.
More than 1.50 lakh people attended the rally.
Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, State party in-charge Arun Singh, party State president Basanta Panda and many others were present.
Prime Minister Modi began his speech saying “Jai Jagannath” and saluting western Odisha’s presiding deity Maa Samaleswari.
And he had a dig at Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, saying that the latter “propagated my programme” by holding farmers’ rallies in this part of the State a couple of days ago.
Modi was referring to Patnaik’s public meetings in Kalahandi and Balangir on Friday mainly to address farmers ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit.
Patnaik’s western Odisha visit was construed to be an effort to steal limelight of Modi’s programme, which had been scheduled much earlier.
Moreover, Modi referred to Odisha’s “nagging poverty despite all its abundant natural resources” and called upon the State’s people, particularly the youth mass to end this scenario.
He wanted an end to the situation of “chalta hai, chalne do; hota hai, hone do” in Odisha and wanted the State to be on a path of steady progress.