BALASORE: The NDA Government is committed to farmers’ welfare and its farm laws are meant to pave way for their welfare and development, said Union Minister of State for MSME Pratap Sarangi here on Thursday.
Talking to media persons, Sarangi said the Bill, which was hanging fire during the UPA regime was passed with ease by the NDA Government. He said farmers had been neglected and their problems were not solved by the UPA Government.
In order to secure farmers’ lives, give them self-respect and bring them back to the mainstream, the Modi Government has given them electricity, concrete houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, cooking gas, soil health card and pension.
The Union Minister said the new laws will provide liberty to farmers after 73 years of independence and now they can sell their produce in and outside their states and even outside the country. It will give the farmers a level playing field. Despite the provision of minimum support price (MSP), the farmers seldom received their dues and had to fall prey to middlemen by selling their produce at prices much lower than that set by the Government.
This often drove the distressed farmers to suicide, he said, adding Prime Minister Narendra Modi has envisioned to ensure development of the agriculture sector through the enactments.
It is natural for the Opposition parties to oppose the Bills. However, if there are any deficiencies in the legislation, they can be amended, he said.