CUDDALORE: Cauvery Delta Irrigation Farmers’ Association president KV Elankeeran on Thursday said that the conference attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Tamil Nadu was “an artificial farmers’ conference.”
Speaking to reporters in Chidambaram, Elankeeran said, “The prime minister came to Coimbatore, attended a natural farming conference and staged a fake show as if he was doing something beneficial for the farmers. Before coming to power in 2014, he promised to double farmers’ income, but cheated Indian farmers. Later, the union government introduced three farm laws, and after more than a year of protests that claimed the lives of 740 farmers, the centre had no option but to withdraw all three laws.”
“Knowing all this, how could PR Pandian (president of the Coordination Committee of All Farmers Associations of Tamil Nadu) support the prime minister? After allowing the sale of genetically modified seeds in the Indian market, how can the prime minister attend a farmers’ conference and act as if he has done something for farmers? The PM participated in the conference only to show the outside world that farmers support him, even though Indian farmers are opposed to this government and to Modi,” he said.
Elankeeran further said Pandian was betraying Indian farmers by supporting the prime minister. "Such a conference cannot be held in North India, which is why the PM conducted it in Tamil Nadu, using Pandian as a tool. Our PM, who conducts artificial programmes using artificial farmers, organising a natural farming conference is extremely ironic.”
Cuddalore district president of the federation KRG Tamilvaanan, district secretary A Selvakumar, ARA Saravanan of the Cauvery Delta Irrigation Farmers’ Association, state executive committee members and other functionaries were present.