New Delhi, Oct 30: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday accused political opponents of spreading rumours about fertiliser shortages and cooking gas supplies amid the ongoing Iran-Gulf conflict, alleging that their intention was to create panic in the country and defame him.
“When crises befall the country, they feel happy,” Modi said while addressing a public gathering in Banaskantha, Gujarat, alleging that some elements disliked India’s progress and wanted to see the country in difficulty.
Referring to the situation arising out of the conflict in Iran and Gulf countries, the Prime Minister said while India was unitedly dealing with the crisis, certain elements were attempting to spread fear among farmers and women through rumours about fertiliser and LPG shortages.
“When India was engaged in facing this unitedly, these people kept spreading rumours,” he said, alleging that their plan was to trigger chaos in the country and malign him.
Assuring farmers that the government had ensured adequate availability of agricultural inputs despite the international disruptions, Modi said global prices of fertilisers and raw materials had surged due to the conflict, but the government had prevented the burden from being passed on to Indian cultivators.
He said a bag of urea costing around Rs 3,000 in the international market was being provided to Indian farmers for less than Rs 300, while a bag of DAP costing over Rs 5,000 internationally was available for Rs 1,350.
“The country is providing this help so that our farmer is empowered, and the farmer’s life becomes better,” he said.
Highlighting the government’s interventions in the agriculture sector, Modi claimed that farmers had received benefits or savings worth more than Rs 50 lakh crore over the past 12 years through five major schemes and policy decisions.
He said nearly Rs 4.5 lakh crore had been transferred directly into the bank accounts of small farmers under the PM-KISAN Samman Nidhi, while the government had spent around Rs 16 lakh crore on fertiliser subsidies to protect farmers from international price fluctuations.
The Prime Minister said wheat and paddy farmers had received more than Rs 24 lakh crore through minimum support price (MSP) payments over the past 12 years. Farmers had also received over Rs 2 lakh crore in crop insurance compensation under the PM Fasal Bima Yojana, he said.
He added that nearly 12 lakh solar pumps had been distributed under the PM-KUSUM scheme, helping farmers generate electricity and save on diesel expenses.
Modi said more than Rs 18,000 crore had been transferred to the bank accounts of around 10 crore farmers across the country under the latest instalment of PM-KISAN. In Gujarat, over Rs 1,000 crore had been deposited into the accounts of more than 50 lakh farmers, including nearly Rs 50 crore for farming families in Banaskantha, he said.
The Prime Minister said the agricultural budget had increased more than fivefold compared to 2013-14, adding that small farmers, who constitute over 85 per cent of the farming community, remained a priority for the government.
Highlighting the integration of science and technology into agriculture, Modi said more than 26 crore Soil Health Cards had been issued to farmers and around 3,000 new varieties of seeds had been made available in recent years to address changing weather conditions.
On animal husbandry, he said India was the world’s largest milk producer, with average daily milk yield per cow or buffalo increasing from less than five litres in 2013-14 to nearly eight litres.
He highlighted the role of the Rashtriya Gokul Mission in improving indigenous livestock breeds and said the newly established bovine breeding and research centre in Banaskantha would support scientific breeding of indigenous cattle and buffalo varieties, including Gir, Sahiwal, Kankrej, Mehsana and Murrah.
Modi said around 150 crore vaccine doses had been administered under the nationwide livestock vaccination programme, providing free vaccination to the animals of more than eight crore farmers.
He also highlighted efforts to increase farmers’ earnings through the utilisation of cattle dung and agricultural waste, saying two bio-CNG plants were among the projects for which foundation stones were laid in Banaskantha.
Referring to the transformation of the region, Modi said Narmada water, drip irrigation and improved agricultural infrastructure had changed the lives of farmers in North Gujarat. He said the capacity of the potato processing plant producing French fries had been increased to facilitate greater procurement from farmers.
The Prime Minister also announced the approval of 12 clusters for fruit and vegetable cultivation, covering crops including tomato, potato, chilli, grapes, banana, onion, orange, pomegranate and cocoa. He said two clusters in North Gujarat would particularly benefit potato farmers in Banaskantha and Sabarkantha.
Modi, who completed 25 years as the head of a government on October 7, recalled his first oath as Gujarat Chief Minister in 2001 and expressed gratitude to the people of the state for their support during his political journey.
Recalling the water and electricity shortages that once affected the region, he urged people to continue conserving both resources. He said the arrival of Narmada water and the adoption of modern irrigation methods had transformed the agricultural landscape.
Listing other development initiatives, Modi highlighted the inauguration and foundation stone laying of projects worth over Rs 14,000 crore in Gujarat. These included two new rail services, the Ahmedabad-Varanasi Sabarmati Express and Mehsana-Becharaji-Sabarmati MEMU, besides metro connectivity projects linking GIFT City and the airport.
He said the Ahmedabad-Mehsana highway would be expanded from four lanes to eight lanes. More than 4,000 modern Anganwadis had also been inaugurated across Gujarat, benefiting around four lakh children and pregnant women, he added.
The Prime Minister also urged people, particularly the youth, to participate in the Run for Unity on October 31 to mark National Unity Day. He announced that this year’s Unity Festival at Ekta Nagar would be held at 5:30 pm, featuring parades by police and security forces and cultural tableaus.
