Let Poor Farmers Reap A Good Harvest: PM Modi's Farm Laws Outreach to Opposition

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi’s reply to motion of thanks on President’s dress in Rajya Sabha today was a work of uncharacteristic restraint. Given tricky situation on farmers protests Modi government finds itself in, restraint was perhaps meticulously planned with a single objective in mind - persuasion. Today’s speech was more like a final retrieving act. He listed number of schemes that his government has launched for welfare of farmers, amount of money that has been directly credited to ir accounts plugging leaks and corruption, opportunities se reforms would open up, particularly for small and marginal farmers, number of whom as proportion of total farming population has swelled from 51 to 68 per cent. He quoted Chaudhary Charan Singh from 1970s to former PM Manmohan Singh to UPA Agriculture Minister Shar Pawar – all n-BJP leers – in favour of reforms. And ultimately committing, yet again, that MSP is going to stay.

But n is farm laws debate about facts anymore? Prime Minister himself has led from front in communicating imperatives and impact of reforms, having spoken at least two dozen times in last three months alone. Experts like former Committee on Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) he Ashok Gulati have openly batted for laws as game changers. Modi also underscored little-kwn fact that a deregulated dairy industry does better as a subset of larger agriculture sector contributing more than share of cereals and pulses combined!

Public memory is short. It is t very long ago that Akalis sat in parliament as farm-laws were passed in September of 2020. Or 2019 Congress manifesto that promised almost exact same reforms. That’s where facts coalesce into politics. Picking from here, PM launched a charm offensive, at least on two occasions exhorting opposition to take full credit of any good that might come out of reforms, and leave abuses for him to handle. “Feel pride in fact that I am doing something suggested by Manmohan Singh.” Or “feel pride in your legacy of dairy industry foundation for which was laid before me,” he said.

Hinting that laws can be easily amended in future based on feedback, he said: “Social life is subject to change. Obstruction does t le to progress. Politics can’t be so compelling that you leave aside your own thoughts to corner government,” Yet, you think this olive branch from PM would have cut much ice?

It is a measure of spite that opposition has for Prime Minister that y would rar see over 12 crores small and marginal farmers suffer penury for longer, n let agriculture reforms make profession of farming little more remunerative in country. Parallelly, in ir politics, farm protests are an experiment in testing power of opposition in countermanding Modi mandate. A sort of creep that began with award-wapsi intolerance debate in first Modi term, consolidated with CAA-NRC protests last year, and is w a fracture that showed up at Red Fort on January 26. renting of likes of Rihanna and Mia Khalifa by separatist elements – Khalistanis named as Foreign Destructive Ideology (FDI) - injects element of sinister in opposition’s compromise-Modi project. PM ended by highlighting dangers of game for Punjab, recalling how state has alrey suffered earlier.

Despite restraint, despite indulgence, despite all cajoling, what are chances that Modi government would succeed in retrieving and implementing farm laws? I would wr whole thing has got so cluttered that retrieval in present form is unlikely. solution lies in one line used by Modi. “States have done all this in some measure (Rajyon ne ha hura toh kiya hi hai),” he said, ding that even states have faced brunt of rent-a-cause protesters – coining word Andolanjeevi (Protest parasites) for m. Modi government can draw from first wave of opposition obstructionism to land reforms it faced in its early days in first term. matter was left to states. With BJP in power in great part of country, this route to get farm laws effectively implemented provides best-case scenario. It helps that Agriculture is a State subject in constitutional scheme of things.