Will double farmers’ income by 2022: Modi
BOTAD (GUJ): Exhorting farmers to adopt modern technology, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said his government has decided to double their income by 2022 when India would celebrate 75 years of Independence.
Modi made the announcement while dedicating the Rs 1,500-crore phase I of link-ii pipeline canal of SAUNI (Saurashtra Narmada Avataran Irrigation) project to the people and laying the foundation stone for Rs 1,694-crore phase II of link II of the project.
The phase II of the project envisages laying of a 74kilometre pipeline network connecting Bhimdad dam to seven other dams in Botad and Bhavnagar districts.
The SAUNI scheme would take water from Narmada to 115 dams in the parched Saurashtra region.
The PM asked farmers to adopt modern farming methods like drip irrigation and said his government has decided to double the farmers' income by 2022.
"Centre has decided to double farmers' income by 2022 by improving technology, increasing milk production, use of solar light, honey production. Fifteen years ago people would not have thought that we can come out of drought-like situation (in this region)," he said.
"We will have to make it our nature to adopt modern technology. Entire government – be it the Central government or the state governments –and banks should come under your mobile phone," he said, while urging the people to download BHIM app and earn money by helping others to download it.
Being a former CM, he understood farmers' issues better, he said.
"I am the first person to become the PM after serving as a CM for a long time. And that is why I know how much farmers are troubled when they do not get urea or water in time. For me, it is easy to understand people's problems," he said.
"When as the Gujarart chief minister I would go to the Centre for meetings and say that we spend a large part of our budget on water, many would criticise me saying you cannot win elections that way. I don't work to win elections but to serve the people of Gujarat. It is only water and not money that can make rural Gujarat progress," the Prime Minister said. NEW DELHI: The Congress on Monday demanded that the EC revert to the old system of paper ballots till the time all EVMS were linked to VVPAT machines providing paper trail of votes and quoted a Supreme Court verdict in this regard.
Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks that the opposition "fabricated" the issue of alleged EVM tampering and instead accused the government of not being interested in having voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines or giving the Election Commission money to buy them.
Citing the 15-page Supreme Court verdict of October 8, 2013 in the matter of Subramanian Swamy versus Union of India, he also accused the government of violating the judgement.
"Today there is no answer, only stunning silence is the answer by the prime minister. There is no answer to a simple question that till such time you fulfill the Supreme Court mandate, why don't you have paper ballot. "Otherwise, instantly give Rs 3,000 to the Election Commission and within a few months have VVPAT for each EVM. There is no answer to either of these basic points," he told reporters. Singhvi said the problem is that for some reason this government is disinterested in having either a VVPAT or in giving money to the EC to get VVPATS.
The Congress leader read out the Supreme Court verdict that states that paper trail of votes is indispensable and it is only with the introduction of paper trail that EVM would be a confidence measure of voter and it is necessary for fullest transparency.