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Agencies

PM Modi to speak on farm laws' benefits in address to Madhya Pradesh farmers
18-December-2020

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the farmers of Madhya Pradesh via video conferencing on Friday during a Kisan Kalyan Sammelan (farmers welfare programme) as part of a state-level programme. The Prime Minister is likely to speak about the beneficial provisions of the new farm laws during his virtual address.

An official of the Madhya Pradesh Public Relations Department said that the Prime Minister will address the farmers in the state around 2 pm. The BJP government in Madhya Pradesh has organised a state-level 'Kisan Kalyan' event in Raisen district, wherein Chief Minister Shivraj Singh will transfer the relief amount of Rs 1,600 crore into the bank accounts of nearly 35.50 lakh farmers for the damaged kharif crops, the official told PTI.

Nearly 20,000 farmers will take part in the state- level programme in Raisen, he added.

"After the chief minister's speech, PM Modi will address the farmers of the state around 2 pm through video- conference and explain to them in detail the beneficial provisions of the new agricultural laws," he said.

Meanwhile, Shivraj Singh on Thursday reviewed the preparations for the four-tier Kisan Kalyan programme and directed the collectors of all districts to make necessary arrangements for the event and ensure that information about it reaches the cultivators. Similar events will also be organised at district, block and panchayat levels in the state, the official added.

The Chief Minister directed the authorities to ensure that COVID-19 protocols, including social distancing and wearing of masks, are followed, he said.

Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, are currently staying put at Delhi's borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in protest against the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. They have expressed apprehension that these laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the "mercy" of big corporations. However, the government has maintained that the new laws will bring farmers better opportunities and usher in new technologies in agriculture. The government argues that the three farm laws will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell anywhere in the country.