Launching a scathing attack on the opposition for opposing the new farm laws, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that these parties were fighting the battle for middlemen and brokers as they could not digest the welfare of farmers.
Addressing a farmers’ gathering in Bareilly on Thursday, Yogi Adityanath said that the opposition leaders were plotting to mislead farmers by spreading rumours about the end of minimum support price (MSP) and mandis, thereby pitching in for middlemen and brokers.
The chief minister said that vested interests of these parties were impeding the welfare of the farmers that was being ensured by Prime Minister Narendra Modi through a series of agricultural reforms.
“These people cannot digest farmers’ welfare. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is dedicatedly working for the betterment of farmers and ensuring that they get all facilities like seeds, fertilisers, markets and MSP,” he stressed.
Yogi said that farmers’ loan to the tune of Rs 36,000 crore had already been waived and the Union cabinet had decided to send Rs 3,500 crore of cane export subsidy directly to the accounts of farmers on Wednesday.
“Benefits of the schemes are directly reaching the farmers and this is why they (opposition) are having problems. They were always into robbing farmers’ rights. Now there is no middlemen between the government and the farmers and this has disturbed them,” he said.
Yogi further said, “The government is guaranteeing MSP and the Union cabinet has increased it. The new law will ensure a healthy competition in the market and the farmers will get higher prices for their produce as they can sell their crops anywhere and there will be no taxes anywhere.”
“Those who do not like to see the farmers progressing are spreading rumours. Soon after the formation of Bharatiya Janata Party government in UP in 2017, crop loans of the farmers totalling Rs 86 lakh were waived. We are continuously buying farmers’ produce and purchase centres have been opened across the state,” he said.
Yogi claimed that during the previous regimes, sugar mills closed down one after the other and for six years, cane dues were not cleared.
“We sent Rs 1,12,000 crore of cane dues directly to farmers’ accounts and more than Rs 22,000 crore was transferred to farmers’ accounts under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme. The next instalment of Rs 4,300 crore will soon be directly sent to their accounts,” the chief minister said.