It's a middlemen's movement, not a farmers' movement in Punjab: Nadda

New Delhi [India], October 22 (ANI): BJP chief JP Nadda on Thursday said that it is not a farmers' movement in Punjab but a middlemen's movement.
"This is not a farmers' movement in Punjab; it is a middlemen's movement. In the mandis of Punjab, the farmer could not even deal with other Adhatiyas (middlemen). Such was the slavery," Nadda told a gathering of farmers at the BJP headquarters here.
"Modi ji has freed the farmers from all these restrictions. Farmer brothers must keep in mind that those who are misleading you are people who revolve around politics. They are not friendly to the farmers," he added.
Nadda further said that the soul of India resides in the farmers but there was apathy in many policies towards farmers for a long time.
"After independence, we were sourcing food items from abroad, that is, we did not have a perfect system. But with the Green Revolution, our farmers joined and today we can say with great pride that we are not only fulfilling the need of the country but are also giving food to the countries of the world," he said.
"The soul of India resides in the farmers and it is the farmer who makes India stand. But it is also true that there was apathy in many policies towards the farmer for a long time," he added.
Nadda said that the Modi government has transferred Rs 6,000 to the account of 10 crore farmers under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana.
"It is a matter of pride for all of us that since the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi came, he has taken many steps for the empowerment of farmers. Modi Ji directly worked to transfer Rs 6,000 to the account of 10 crore farmers under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana," he said.
He said that Swaminathan's report was lying in a corner in the UPA regime. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi came, he took up the task of implementing the report of Swaminathan and for the first time he gave the MSP of one and a half times the cost to the farmers, he added.
The Parliament recently passed The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020. All of these bills have also received the Presidential assent. (ANI)