Patna, Aug 2 (IANS) Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday participated in Kisan Utsav Diwas organised at Bapu Auditorium in Patna, met farmers and listened to their grievances.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan stepped off the stage and walked among the crowd, enquiring farmers about their problems. The farmers candidly raised issues, including complaints of being forced to buy nano urea bottles along with fertilisers.

The minister warned officials, saying, “No one can force farmers. Strict action will be taken against those who provide something else in place of fertilisers,” he said, directing immediate action against the culprits and emphasising a crackdown on black marketing of fertilisers.

The event was held to mark the disbursal of the 20th instalment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana.

From Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi transferred Rs 2,000 each to 9.7 crore farmers, including 74 lakh farmers in Bihar.

Chouhan praised the direct benefit transfer model and said, “We have given over Rs 3 lakh crore to farmers so far. Under PM Fasal Bima Yojana, Rs 1.83 lakh crore has been credited to farmers’ accounts.”

He also announced that the Central government will buy pulses from Bihar farmers at MSP and facilitate vegetable transportation to Delhi, with freight expenses borne by the Centre.

Chouhan outlined several new and ongoing initiatives, including Dhan Dhanya Yojana to be launched soon, Rs 2 lakh crore fertiliser subsidy being provided annually, Rs 25 lakh crore disbursed via Kisan Credit Cards, plans to connect modern research to farms, and a push to make 3 crore women “Lakhpati Didis”

He also noted, “Fifty-five crore bank accounts have been opened across the country under PM Modi’s vision of financial inclusion.”

Chouhan administered an oath to farmers and women present to use Indian-made goods.

He appealed emotionally, saying, “Raksha Bandhan is near. Sisters should tie rakhis made in their own village and country. Use products made in your village, your city, your country – boycott foreign goods.”

He emphasised that the strength of India’s economy is directly linked to empowered farmers and domestic production, and declared that “we will not bow down to foreign pressures.”

Without naming individuals directly, Shivraj Singh Chouhan also took a veiled dig at the Congress and RJD regimes, stating that “during their time, nothing was done for the farmers.”

In contrast, he positioned the Modi-led government as being consistently pro-farmer and reform-oriented.

–IANS

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