Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being 'anti-farmer' and 'selling' the country through the India-US interim trade deal, vowing to stand strongly with farmers.
The PM's speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort today was " stale, hypocritical, insipid, and troubling", the Congress general secretary said.
'In the long run, the boost to farmers' incomes must come from technological breakthroughs,' says Pratap S Birthal and Digvijay S Negi.
Earlier this month, the Central government said in a reply in Parliament it had taken measures to double farmers' income by the end of FY23 and the progress made so far indicated it was "on the right track". However, a close look at the data and at the assumptions made shows that as of now, it appears the country is unlikely to achieve the goal in real terms.
On the completion of two years of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said his government ushered a historic increase in the minimum support price (MSP) for crops and was doing everything possible to double the income of farmers.
India's opposition parties have sharply criticized the Union Budget, calling it inadequate to address the country's economic woes and accusing the BJP-led government of using it to woo voters in Bihar and Delhi ahead of upcoming elections. Leaders from the Congress, TMC, DMK, SP, and CPI(M) voiced their disapproval, highlighting concerns over inflation, unemployment, and the lack of substantial measures to support the agricultural sector and the poor. They also criticized the tax cuts for the middle class as insufficient and coming too late after years of high taxes and rising prices.
Kharge also hit back at the BJP for criticising his party colleague Rahul Gandhi over a copy of the Constitution with a red cover. He showed a picture of PM Modi gifting a similar copy to former president Ramnath Kovind.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday reached out to the farmers, asking them to convert the challenges into opportunities.
'The lack of a majority isn't the issue. He has enough in 240, especially as none of his allies can pull down his coalition.' 'That's why he's started as if this were just another, normal term. That pretence is vital for him.' 'The change for Modi 3.0 comes not from numbers, but from the new environment of contestation,' points out Shekhar Gupta.
Kharge also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the people should not believe Modi's "guarantees".
'The Congress is trying to reinvent itself -- the caste census demand, OBC emphasis, the anti-corporate thrust, especially on Adani etc -- all this is not standard Congress strategy.'
Amid some Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) constituents switching sides to the National Democratic Alliance, Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Sunday said the opposition alliance is 'strong' and the Bharatiya Janata Party is attempting a 'frantic rejig' of the political landscape as it is worried over the collective strength of the coalition.
'The BJP has started a war-like situation against farmers and the Jat community.'
The new laws aim at fetching fair price for farmers' produce and give them liberty to sell it wherever they wish, the Union minister further said.
At present, perpetrators of such acts often get away unscathed as the penalty for the first time offender is just Rs 50 under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960.
Even as India strives to climb the development mountain, the fact is that the mountaintop is already crowded. If it got there in 2047, India would be very much a late-comer, observes T N Ninan.
Barely days after imposing a 40 per cent export tax on onions to cool down soaring prices, which, in turn, triggered widespread protests across the main growing belts, the Centre on Tuesday sought to mitigate both political and economic tensions gripping parts of Maharashtra. It decided to procure an additional 200,000 tonnes of onions at Rs 2,410 per quintal for its buffer stock from farmers, a rate that is strikingly close to the price at which they were being exported before the 40 per cent duty was levied on August 19. The export price before the imposition of the duty stood at around $320 per tonne free on board (approximately Rs 2,650 per quintal).
NITI Aayog has not said what the reasons were for having achieved or not having achieved what was sought to be achieved, or what lessons can be learned for the future, points out Aakar Patel.
Dr Shreekant Sambrani pays tribute to M S Swaminathan, renowned agricultural scientist and a lifelong crusader against hunger who passed away in Chennai recently.
Chand pointed out that the government is willing to discuss the three farm laws clause by clause, and farmer leaders should consider this offer.
Overall, the record of the second term reveals a contradiction between the image and the reality. The image, especially on media and social media, is one of the man at the height of his power, and unstoppable. The reality on governance is someone who has found it difficult to get things implemented and unsure of what to do next, points out Aakar Patel.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has written an open letter to farmers, congratulating them on their 'historic victory' after the Centre announced its decision to repeal three contentious farm laws, and assured them of his party's support in their future struggles.
He interrupted his speech to observe a minute's silence in the House along with other Opposition leaders, mainly the Congress, to pay tribute to farmers who had lost their lives during the two month agitation.
Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "troubled" with only 15 minutes of wait whereas farmers protested against the farm laws for a year.
Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala also said, "Saheb knows his qualities very well". He also shared a copy of the news report.
Unlike the 2012 manifesto, the BJP has chosen not to make any extravagant promises.
Opposition members in the Lok Sabha on Monday blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government's policies for the price rise and accused it of ignoring the plight of common people, saying kitchens will soon "see a lockdown" if the Centre does not take corrective measures.
The amendments to the six-and-half-decade law provides that stock holding limit on commodities will only be imposed under exceptional circumstances like national calamities, famine with a surge in prices, the minister said.
Three-quarters into the 10 years that Mr Modi had sought for transforming India, the 'output' numbers look impressive, but the key 'outcome' numbers don't show up much, if at all, observes T N Ninan.
The government and unions representing farmers, who have been camping at Delhi's border for about three months in protest against the three laws that they see will end state procurement of crops at MSP, have held 11 rounds of talks, the last being on January 22.
The Congress leader told reporters that the Punjab government is 'preparing to challenge the Bills in the apex court on two counts'. "First, it is a state subject and the Union government has no right to enact a legislation on it. "Besides, the federal government cannot destroy the economy of states. Due to the Bills, losses will be too much for a small state like Punjab," he said.
The farm sector has been resilient to the COVID-19 shock and is estimated to grow at 3.9 per cent this fiscal, the Economic Survey said on Monday, while suggesting to the government to give priority to crop diversification, allied farm sectors and alternative fertilisers like Nano urea. The Economic Survey 2021-22 also pitched for increasing agriculture research and development (R&D) and organic farming, besides use of new technologies like drones. "The performance of the agriculture and the allied sector has been resilient to the COVID-19 shock. ...Growth in allied sectors including livestock, dairying and fisheries has been the major drivers of overall growth in the sector," the Survey said. The agriculture sector has experienced buoyant growth in the past two years.
Modi said the policies of the government will empower the downtrodden and turn them into a "power house" for the development of the country.
Iconic dialogues from Bollywood movies like Sunny Deol's Damini, have found its place in the Economic Survey 2018.
The BJP's effort comes in the wake of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal set to attend the eighth RCEP ministerial meeting in Bangkok from October 10 to 12.
India achieved record foodgrains production this year but the withdrawal of three agri-reform laws and spike in cooking oil prices cast a shadow on the country's resilient agriculture sector that is on course for better harvest in 2022 despite pandemic blues. While soaring production of foodgrains that also helped the government provide free additional rations for COVID-hit poor families for many months together came as a relief, the passing year will be remembered for the long drawn farmers' protest at Delhi borders against the three laws and subsequent repeal of the legislations. The Indian agriculture sector, which was among the few segments that remained robust amid the pandemic gales, is expected to register a growth rate of 3.5 per cent in the current financial year ending March 2022.
The government also proposed promoting 'one product one district' for better marketing and export of horticulture crops. It also called on states for early implementation of three key central model laws on land leasing, agriculture produce and livestock marketing and contract farming.
Lauding the farm sector for demonstrating resilience during the pandemic, the Economic Survey on Friday suggested the government to see farm sector as a "modern business enterprise" for which "urgent reforms" are required to enable sustainable and consistent growth. India's agricultural sector has shown its resilience amid the adversities of COVID-19 induced lockdowns, the Survey noted. The agriculture and allied activities were the sole bright spot amid the slide in GDP performance of other sectors, clocking a growth rate of 3.4 per cent at constant prices during 2020-21, it added. According to the Survey, the farm sector has got "renewed thrust" due to various measures on credit, market reforms and food processing under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat announcements.
'To bring about a paradigm shift in farmers's income, we need to change our approach to agriculture, and transit from the narrow prism of cultivation to a full-fledged enterprise, by building all associated supply chain linkages.' 'This alone will make the farmer an entrepreneur in his own right.'
'If these new farm laws are allowed to be implemented, there are very high chances of big increase in income of the farmers and in many states, it may even double'
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