Farm laws will bring down walls between agriculture and other sectors, says PM Modi

The farmer’s protest entered the 16th day on Saturday. The Delhi police has increased security arrangements at the city’s border points following the announcement by agitating farmers to block the Jaipur-Delhi and the Delhi Agra Expressway on Saturday.

Thousands of farmers have been protesting at various areas on Delhi borders for the last 16 days and demanding that Center’s new agriculture laws will be repealed.

Prime Minister on Saturday said that the new farm laws legislated by the central government a few months ago will help bring down barriers between agricultural and associated sectors, creating new markets for farmers who will gain from technological advances and investments.

“Today, farmers of India can sell their produce both at the mandis, as well as outside. Farmers can also sell their produce on digital platforms. We’ve taking all these initiatives to increase the farmers’ income and make them more prosperous,” says PM Modi.

Several rounds of talks between the farmers and the government failed to end the deadlock between the two. With the farmers refusing resume talks unless repeal of the three laws, ministers in the Union Government began pushing the narrative that the agitation has been hijacked by ‘anti-national’ elements.

Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the ongoing farmers’ protest has been “overtaken” by the “tukde-tukde gang”, adding that “it is possible that the negotiations (between the government and farmers’ unions) failed due to them.”

Rakesh Tikait, Bharatiya Kisan Union, said the central intelligence should catch ‘anti national elements’ rather than warning about them. “If people of a banned organisation are roaming amid us, put them behind bars. We haven’t found any such person here, if we do we’ll send them away,” he said.