Farmer leaders from across the country on Tuesday expressed strong support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to resist foreign pressure in trade negotiations, calling it a historic move to protect the interests of cultivators, livestock rearers and fishermen.
At a meeting held at Subrahmanyam Hall, Pusa Campus, New Delhi, attended by Union Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Minister of State for Agriculture Bhagirath Choudhary, senior ministry officials, and ICAR Director General M.L. Jat, representatives of major farmers’ organisations thanked the Prime Minister for what they termed a “far-sighted, farmer-friendly” stand.
Farmer leaders said the government’s refusal to allow foreign companies, particularly from the US, into the agriculture and dairy sectors had boosted morale in rural India. They lauded the leadership of both Modi and Chouhan, saying the move reinforced self-reliance in agriculture.
“India will not compromise farmers’ interests at any cost. This decision strengthens the self-reliance of agriculture and rural India,” said Dharmendra Choudhary, National President of the Indian Farmer Chaudhary Charan Singh Organisation.
Virendra Lohan of the Chhattisgarh Youth Progressive Farmers’ Association said the decision had resonated “in every field, village and cowshed,” while Punjab’s Kirpa Singh Natthuwala said the step had filled cultivators with pride.
In his address, Chouhan described farmers as “providers and givers of life” and pledged continued action against counterfeit fertilisers, seeds and pesticides, announcing that a new law for strict enforcement would be introduced soon. He also cited the recent direct digital payments to farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and called the Prime Minister’s post-Pahalgam terror attack decision to scrap the Indus Waters Treaty “historic”.
The agriculture minister said the gathering represented “a miniature India” and assured farmers that the government would continue to take strong, nation-first decisions in their interest.
