Updated: December 18, 2020 1:40:06 pm
Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an event in Kutch. (File Photo)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Friday address the farmers in Madhya Pradesh through video conferencing at a state-level Kisan Sammelan (farmers’ conference), organised in Raisen district, where he would speak about the “beneficial provisions” of the new farm laws. This comes a day after nearly a thousand farmers embarked on a foot march from Morena to join protests at Delhi borders, where the stir against the contentious farm laws passed by the Centre has entered its 23rd day.
“PM Modi will address the farmers of the state around 2 pm through video-conference and explain to them in detail the beneficial provisions of the new agricultural laws,” an official of the Madhya Pradesh public relations department on told news agency PTI on Thursday.
The PM’s address will be broadcast live in 23,000 villages across the country and at all the district headquarters of Madhya Pradesh, the official said, adding that nearly 20,000 farmers will take part in the event.
पीएम श्री @narendramodi 18 दिसंबर 2020 को वीडियो कॉन्फ़्रेंसिंग के माध्यम से मध्य प्रदेश में होने वाले किसान सम्मेलनों को संबोधित करेंगे।
लाइव देखें
• https://t.co/vpP0MI6iTu
• https://t.co/KrGm5hWgwn
• https://t.co/lcXkSnweeN
• https://t.co/jtwD1yPhm4#ModiWithFarmers pic.twitter.com/KmCzbKg7nm— BJP (@BJP4India) December 17, 2020
A total amount of Rs 1,660 crore will also be transferred to the accounts of 35 lakh farmers by the state government as a compensation for crop loss, he said.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will also be present at the event. “After the chief minister”s speech, PM Modi will address the farmers of the state around 2 pm through video- conference and explain to them in detail the beneficial provisions of the new agricultural laws,” the officials said.
Chouhan on Thursday took stock of the preparations for the four-tier Kisan Kalyan event and directed the collectors of all districts to make necessary arrangements and ensure that information about it reaches the cultivators. Similar programmes will also be organised at district, block and panchayat levels in the state. The chief minister also directed the authorities to ensure that COVID-19 protocols, including social distancing and wearing of masks, are maintained, the official said.
The PM’s address is a part of the fresh nationwide campaign launched by the ruling BJP to counter attempts by opposition parties to “misguide and mislead” the farmers. With the farmers protesting on the borders of the national capital refusing to relent on their demand for repeal of three new farm laws, the BJP’s national leadership has written to all state units, asking them to hold Kisan Sammelans, mass awareness and public outreach programmes to “sensitise” the farmers about the benefits of the farm laws against which farmers from Punjab and Haryana are protesting. The senior ministers and leaders of the party are also holding meetings with “pro-farm laws farmers’ groups”, to signal that the demand for a repeal of the three laws doesn’t reflect a national farmer sentiment.
Addressing a Kisan Sammelan in Gujarat’s Panchmahal district on Thursday , Gujarat’s Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said the farmers’ protest on the borders of Delhi against the Centre’s three new laws had the support of “anti-national elements, terrorists, Khalistanis, communists and pro-China people”.
“If 50,000 out of 130 crore population come on to the streets asking to repeal a law, then tomorrow some other people will come and demand repeal of CAA… Anti-national elements will come together, terrorists from Kashmir and pro-Pakistan people will come together with instigation from Pakistan… if 50,000 anti-nationals come together and demand to repeal the law that abrogated Article 370, do we have to repeal the Act passed by Parliament? If 50,000 people demand, do we let Kashmir go (to Pakistan)? If 50,000 Communists get together and ask to give Ladakh to China, do we have to do so?,” he said.
This article is auto-generated by Algorithm Source: indianexpress.com
