'Opposition and those against country's progress misleading farmers,' says Yogi Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday launched a scathing attack against the Opposition for misleading farmers on the agrarian laws. While clearing misconception on the laws, Yogi stated that there is no provision in the laws which allows confiscating farmers' land.

"You all know that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union agriculture minister have repeatedly stated that the laws made for agricultural reforms will not allow anyone to confiscate the farmers' land. There is no provision in the law to abolish the mandi system," he said while addressing a gathering on Thursday.

"Mandis will continue. Mandis in the private sector will bring healthy competition and farmers would get a better price for their crop. If farmers want to sell their produce outside the mandis then there will be no tax on them and to guarantee this, such a system is being implemented. But Opposition and some people who do not like farmers' and the country's progress are misleading people," he added.

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PM Modi to address MP farmers

In order to allay the fear of the farmers and to clear the misconception over the laws, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to virtually address the farmers of Madhya Pradesh on Friday via video conference at 2 pm. According to sources, the virtual address will be telecast in around 23,000 villages. The address holds significance as the protests by Farmer's Unions on Delhi borders continue unabated, with Supreme Court intervening in the matter. PM Modi during his visit to Gujarat said the Opposition parties who are supporting the protest, were in favour of similar reforms in the agriculture sector when they were in power.

The BJP has also planned to counter the misinformation over the agrarian laws by planning mega outreach programme with 700 press conferences as well as organising 700 chaupals over the next few days, according to ANI.

Supreme Court intervention

On Thursday, the Supreme Court acknowledged the right of the farmers to protest peacefully however, the court observed that the purpose of protest must be served through dialogue as one cannot stage protests for years. The court was hearing a plea filed by a law student against the road blockade by the farmers on several border points of Delhi, causing inconvenience to the civilians. The court said that it is considering setting up an impartial committee for both sides to resolve the issue and reach common ground.

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