What Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on American tariff at gathering of farmer organisation leaders
A large gathering of farmer organisation leaders and cultivators from across the country today met Union Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, and Rural Development, Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan at Subrahmanyam Hall, Pusa Campus, New Delhi, to express gratitude and support for the central government’s decisive action to protect farmers’ interests.
The meeting was also attended by Union Minister of State for Agriculture Shri Bhagirath Choudhary, Agriculture Secretary Shri Devesh Chaturvedi, ICAR Director General Dr. M.L. Jat, and representatives from various states.
On this occasion, several representatives of farmer organisations spoke in unison while expressing their gratitude towards the Prime Minister for this farmer-friendly historic decision.
In his address, Union Agriculture Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the gathering represented a miniature India. “I salute you—my farmer brothers here—who work day and night to feed not just India but the world. Grain is life, grain is divine. The farmer is both the provider and the giver of life. For me, serving farmers is worship of God, and there is no greater worship than this.”
Shivraj reiterated that the government would soon bring in a new law to take strict action against those producing fake fertilisers and chemicals. He said various schemes for farmers’ welfare are being advanced on priority. Just yesterday (August 11), digital payment of insurance amounts was made to farmers from Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.
The Union Agriculture Minister emphasised that the PM has always taken strong, bold, nation-centric decisions, for which the country will forever remain indebted.
There will be no compromise with the interests of farmers
Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on American tariff that there will be no compromise with the interests of farmers.
Addressing the farmers, he said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said on August 7 that no matter how big the loss is personally, there will be no compromise with the interests of farmers."
He said, "What will happen, we will see, India is a population of 144 crores. If there is some trouble, we will see. We will look for new markets and India is such a big market that our products will be sold here."
The Agriculture Minister said, "The population of Europe is 50 crores, America's is 30 crores and ours is 144 crores. This population is not a weakness but our strength and that is why this decision was taken."
He said, "This is also our testing time. We should not bow down."
America has imposed a 50 percent tariff on the import of Indian goods.
Bharatiya Kisan Sangh representatives Shri Harpaal Singh Dagar, Shri Dharmendra Malik, Shri Dharmendra Choudhary, Shri Virendra Lohan, Shri Kirpa Singh Natthuwala, Shri Kuldeep Singh Bajidpur, Shri Baba Rajendra Singh Malik, Shri Tarunesh Sharma, Shri K.P. Singh Thainua, Shri Acharya Ramgopal Walia, Shri Vinod Anand, Shri Rajkumar Balyan, Shri Ashok Balyan, Shri Vipichandra R. Patel, Shri Rampal Jat, Shri Krishnaveer Choudhary, Shri Bhupendra Singh Mann, and Shri K. Sai Reddy thanked the Prime Minister for his bold steps.
Prakash Kumar Pandey