As the farmers’ protest reached the national capital, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi spoke exclusively to The Daily Guardian and said that the farm laws are actually pro-farmer and anti-middleman and politicians with zero knowledge of farming are the ones creating trouble. Excerpts:
Q. The farmers’ movement is becoming fierce and farmer leader Chaudhary Mahendra Singh Tikait has stood in support of it. The non-BJP-ruled states are also with the movement.
A. This is the government of Modi ji. When people gave us the mandate, what had been the first resolution of this government? It had been to double the income of the farmers. The people of Congress who remained speechless are not able to say now that, in their time, there had been a budget of Rs 12,000 crores. Now, it is more than Rs 34,000 crores. They cannot say that after the arrival of Modi ji, millions of farmers have benefited from Kisan Samman Nidhi. They are not able to say that work has been done to double the income from agriculture. The bill is not against the farmers, it is for the interests of the farmers. It is a bill against middlemen.
Q. Farmers say that they are facing difficulties in selling their crops directly. In this case, where will they get the right cost for their crops?
A. We do not have a complaint against the farmers. We complain about those who don’t know that ‘K’ means kisaan, who don’t know that ‘KH’ means kheti, and that ‘F’ means fasal. We have complaints against people who do not know the difference between potatoes and eggs, those who don’t know the difference between brinjals and burgers, between sugarcane and gud, between onion and pizza. We have complaints against n talking to farmers. And if there is any kind of confusion, talking will solve it.
Q. Do you believe that the farmers› bill is a bill for the benefit of the farmers? If so, why is there such politics around it?
A. The agricultural bills are for the interest of the farmers and against the middlemen. Politics is being done by the party which does not know about crops and farming.
Q. What is the way out now?
A. Those who are misleading these farmers and organizing these movements will figure this out.