PM backs farm reforms, says govt ready for talks

Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed on Wednesday that the new farm laws passed in September were optional and not binding on farmers, who, he said, can still sell their produce wherever they earn more profits and not necessarily to corporate entities. The PM invited protesting farmers to resume a dialogue, saying changes could be introduced in the legislation if any problems indeed existed. “As long as our small farmers don’t get empowered, full freedom will not be achieved, ” he said in the Lok Sabha.

NEW DELHI: Reaping the political benefit of the Congress’s differing approaches in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on discussions over the President’s speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a sharp attack on the Opposition party on Wednesday and said such a “divided and confused” party could neither do any good for itself nor think of any solutions for the country’s problems.

Modi’s remarks came when Congress MPs, including former party chief Rahul Gandhi, were walking out of the House.

“Nothing can be more unfortunate than this. The Congress is there in Rajya Sabha, their senior leaders are there, they debate with a lot of enthusiasm and express their views. On the other hand, there is the other section of the Congress (in Lok Sabha) .... Time will tell,” the PM said.

Last week, the Rajya Sabha leadership of the Congress, along with other Opposition parties, participated in the debate on the President’s speech.

In stark contrast, the Congress leaders in Lok Sabha continued to disrupt the proceedings for four days before agreeing to participate. According to party insiders, Gandhi made his displeasure known to the Rajya Sabha leaders.