New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the agriculture trade reforms were meant to end the rule of ‘Powerful gangs’ that have been exploiting farmers. He accused the opposition parties who are opposing the farm bills, powerful gangs emerged in the country who used the shield of existing laws to cash in on the helplessness of farmers all these years.

How long this could be allowed to go on? It was necessary to change this system and our Government has shown these changes, he said. The recommendation of the Swaminathan Committee calling for liberalization of trade in agricultural products had been showed into the deep freezer because of the resistance of vested interest, he added.

PM Modi also rebutted the allegation that the reform measures would spell the dismantling of the scheme to provide MSP for farmers and the existing mandis under agriculture produce marketing committees.

His hard hitting remarks came during his speech at a web based function to mark the laying of optical fibre network and launch of highway projects in poll bound Bihar and just a few hours before the Government announced an increase in MSP for Rabi crops. The near overlap being seen as meant to be a refutation of the allegation of MSP’s demise. He also said how during the Covid- 19 pandemic, record purchase of wheat was made from farmers and over Rs. 1 lakh crore was given to farmers at MSP, morethan 30% over last year.

The old laws dealing with the system of production and sale of farm produce rendered farmers captive of mandis and stressed that they would now have the option to sell their produce to anyone at any rate and anywhere they wished to. Now he has got many more options besides the mandi office area. Now if he gets more profit in the market, then he will go to the market and sell his crop.

Apart from mandi, if you get profit elsewhere, then you will go there and sell, it will be possible due to the freedom from all bonds, said Modi. PM dismissed as a lie that mandis would become extinct in the wake of the reforms. They will continue to operate as usual, he said as he emphasized the efforts under his Government to improve the functioning of APMCs with computerization.

PM also said the soon- to- be enacted laws started giving benefits since being promulgated as ordinances and gave the example of bulk buyers of potatoes sourcing their requirements directly from cold storages.