Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath on Thursday offered his understanding of the farmers’ protests, claiming the Opposition was supporting the agitation to fuel unrest in the country because it could not bear that Prime Minister Modi’s plan to construct a Ram temple in Ayodhya was becoming a reality, NDTV reported.
“Now, as the construction of the temple has started, the Opposition has been left with no issue,” Adityanath said. He was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of over 100 projects worth Rs 972 crore in Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh, according to PTI.
The chief minister claimed that the Opposition was envious of how the Modi government was able to consolidate the country under its rule. “This is the envy of those people who do not like that Bharat is becoming Ek Bharat,” he added. “They [Opposition leaders] are angry. Those who cannot tolerate that a grand Ram temple is being built in Ayodhya are angry because Modi has even kickstarted the construction.”
Tens of thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, have been protesting against the Centre’s new agricultural laws at key entry points to Delhi for the last 22 days. They say the laws could cause the government to stop buying grain at guaranteed prices and result in their exploitation by corporations. They want the laws scrapped.
The government says the legislations will bring about much needed reform in agriculture, that will allow farmers the freedom to market their produce and boost production through private investment.
While Prime Minister Modi and his party’s leaders have tried to allay farmers’ concerns about the new laws, some of them have called the farmers “misguided”, alleging they are being motivated by separatists and “anti-national” elements. Among them is also Adityanath, who on December 14, had claimed that the agitation had been hijacked by “anti-nationals” as part of a “conspiracy to destabilise” the country.
In his Thursday’s address, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister once again raked up allegations and claimed that the “demoralised” Opposition was misleading farmers by telling lies and “conspiring” against them. “They are creating confusion among farmers,” Adityanath alleged. “The mandis will not be shut. No one will be allowed to grab land of farmers.”
Adityanath added that the BJP-led government at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh was working for the interest of farmers, villagers and the poor under the guidance of Modi. “The government will ensure that farmers get their dues and their income increases,” he added.
The chief minister also touted his government’s efforts to boost agriculture in Uttar Pradesh. Adityanath claimed that under the previous Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party regimes, several sugar mills were shut. But “we have paid sugarcane dues of Rs 1.15 lakh crore to farmers,” he said. “The government is bringing a new policy on biofuels in the interest of farmers We are connecting the mandis with technology while the rumours are being spread that these will be closed.”
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