Mumbai, Aug 9 (IANS) The Shiv Sena (UBT) on Saturday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi for suddenly remembering the farmers of the country. In the Saamana editorial, the mouthpiece of the party, it said the Prime Minister finds himself cornered both nationally and internationally, so he is now trying to use farmers as a shield to escape the crisis.

“PM Modi is in a dilemma as to how to get out of the serious situation created by the 50 per cent ‘tariff bomb’ dropped on India by the US President and his close friend Donald Trump. It will have a disastrous effect, hitting farmers the hardest. At a time when farmers are already disillusioned with the government, PM Modi has started appeasing them more than ever. He is now getting hiccups in the name of farmers,” said the Thackeray camp in the Saamnal.

Prime Minister Modi said on Thursday, “I am ready to pay any personal price, but I will never compromise on the interests of the farmers.” The remark was made in his inaugural address at the global conference to commemorate the works of the acclaimed agriculture scientist, Dr MS Swaminathan, on his birth centenary. It drew mixed reactions across the country, especially on social media, it said.

PM Modi asserted, “Our commitment to the welfare of the country’s farmers is unwavering. I will never compromise on the interests of my farmers, cattle rearers, and fisherman brothers and sisters.”

The Saamana editorial claimed that PM Modi’s comments were made amid tension between the two countries due to the US move to slap a 50 per cent higher import duty on Indian agricultural products.

It questioned PM Modi’s sudden love for farmers, recalling how the government treated farmers during the protests. It said, “Who was treating the country’s farmers like enemies till yesterday? Which government brought three black laws that harmed the interests of the farmers? Who stopped our own farmers from protesting in the national capital? Who considered them enemies and laid nails in their way? But isn’t it surprising that PM Modi is now remembering the interests and rights of the same farmers at whom tear gas shells and rubber bullets were fired?”

In the Swaminathan Birth Centenary celebrations, in which PM Modi spoke about the interests of farmers, the Thackeray camp said he had promised to implement the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission in 2014, and the government had assured to pay the farmers based on production cost and fix support price for them. The government had also announced that it would pay the full price of all agricultural products, along with 50 per cent profit on them.

“It would have been better if the Prime Minister had said what the government had promised again about the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report during the function. PM Modi’s dream of doubling the income of farmers never came true. On the contrary, the prices of fertilizers and seeds doubled or tripled, while the prices of agricultural products stagnated. Then, farmers have to deal with the shortage of fertilizers like urea, its black marketing, and losses due to poor quality seeds. Agriculture has suffered a heavy loss, and farmers have become poorer. Most of the problems for the farmers of the country have arisen or were created during PM Modi’s rule, but the government, which treated farmers like enemies till yesterday, is now seen trying to garner the sympathy of the farmers after America’s tariff bomb,” claimed the editorial.

Citing RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s recent remark that “when all efforts fail, the public is remembered,” the Sena (UBT) said the statement “applies perfectly” to PM Modi. “If the Prime Minister says he is ready to pay a personal price for farmers, it means he is suffering from some unknown fear,” the editorial concluded.

–IANS

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