Committed to farmers’ welfare: Modi

Sunit Dhawan

Tribune News Service

Garhi Sampla (Rohtak), Oct 9

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday stated that the BJP government was committed to the welfare of farmers and had taken various initiatives to improve their lot.

He was addressing a massive gathering after unveiling a 64-foot-high statue of Sir Chhotu Ram. He laid the foundation stone of a rail coach repair factory to be set up in the Barhi industrial area of Sonepat district at a cost of about Rs 500 crore.

“Our government has fulfilled the long-standing demand of farmers by increasing the MSP of 21 crops, including wheat, paddy and sugarcane. We have ensured a provision for 50 per cent profit on total cost of agricultural inputs and started the Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan, under which farmers with income below the MSP will be compensated,” he stated.

He asserted that the Lakhwar dam, for which six states had inked a pact, would benefit farmers of Haryana. Describing Chhotu Ram as a great visionary, he stated that the late leader had voiced the concerns of farmers, labourers and small traders and played an instrumental role in building India.

He said the rail coach repair factory would contribute in the progress of the industry and provide job opportunities to the youth. He appreciated that Haryana had been declared an open defecation free state and Maharshi Dayanand University in Rohtak had bagged the top ranking in cleanliness.

Earlier, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and state BJP president Subhash Barala welcomed the Prime Minister. Khattar said the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway was nearing completion and would be inaugurated in around a month, for which he sought time from the Prime Minister.

Sir Chhotu Ram’s grandson and Union Minister for Steel Birender Singh observed that doubling of farmers’ income, as promised by the Prime Minister, would go a long way in strengthening the economy.

Haryana Governor Satya-dev Narayan Arya, Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satyapal Malik and Himachal Pradesh Governor Acharya Dev Vrat were present.

Striking a chord

The Prime Minister surprised the gathering by beginning his speech in Haryanavi dialect as he said: “Des ki seema pae raksha karan mein sabte ghaney jawan, karodo ki abadi ka pet bharan mein sabte aagey kisan, ar khelaan mein sabte jyada medal jeetan aaley khiladi den aali Haryane ki dharti ne main pranaam karu hoon.” The crowd cheered him as he spoke in Haryanavi.

About Chhotu Ram

• Sir Chhotu Ram was a prominent Jat politician in British India’s Punjab province and an ideologue of peasants who worked for the interests of peasants
• Granted the title of Sir by the British, Chhotu Ram awakened group consciousness among the Jat peasantry and effected a number of agrarian reforms as minister in undivided Punjab in British India
• As Revenue Minister, he brought in changes in the law to stop the practice of usury (lending money on unreasonably high rates of interest)
• He was a co-founder of the National Unionist Party, which had ruled in Punjab province in British India, keeping the Congress and Muslim League out
• Born on November 24, 1881, at Garhi Sampla in Rohtak, Sir Chhotu Ram died on January 9, 1945, in Lahore at the age of 63. His grandson Birender Singh is Minister for Steel in the Union Cabinet