'Will serve till my last breath': PM Modi targets Opposition during Gujarat visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday attacked his opponents for allegedly spreading rumours about fertiliser and cooking gas shortages following the war in West Asia to defame him, reminding the farmers of his promise to stand by them as he laid foundation stones for development projects worth over ₹14,000 crore and released the 24th instalment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme.Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Gujarat’s Banaskantha. (ANI)Modi said tensions in the Gulf are still ongoing, but the government did not let the burden of increased fertiliser prices fall on farmers. He said everyone is working towards making India a developed nation. “But some people do not like this. These are the people who want to see the country in crisis. They feel happy when they see the country in crisis,” said Modi, who is on a two-day visit to his home state of Gujarat.Modi, who began the day with a roadshow in Banaskantha, told a gathering of farmers that when the nation was facing uncertainties and tensions in the Gulf, his opponents spread rumours. He cited the rising cost of fertilisers and said one bag of urea costs ₹3,000 in the international market, but Indian farmers get it for less than one-tenth of that price or under ₹300 per bag. Modi said the international price of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) is ₹5,000 per bag, but Indian farmers continue to get it at ₹1,350.He said the government is bearing the additional cost burden so that farmers can lead better and more prosperous lives.“In recent years, thanks to our government’s policies, farmers have received or saved more than ₹50 lakh crore,” he said, citing five schemes. He said nearly ₹4.5 lakh crore has been directly transferred to the bank accounts of small farmers under PM-KISAN Samman Nidhi alone.Modi said that honey production has doubled in the last 12 years under the Sweet Revolution in beekeeping. He referred to a woman who sells honey worth ₹35 lakh.Modi recalled taking his first oath of office as the Gujarat chief minister in October 2001 and completing 25 years in public life.“But it feels like just yesterday when I first took the oath of office in October 2001, you showered me with a lot of love…when people of Gujarat call me ‘our Narendrabhai,’ my chest fills with pride.” He spoke of his modest background, saying he knew nothing about government offices and files when he first took the oath.Modi credited the people of Gujarat for giving him the opportunity first to serve the state and then the country. “When people ask me about electricity schemes and water schemes, I tell them that this is what I have learnt from you and implemented. I will continue serving people until my last breath.”He recalled that 25 years ago, when he visited areas and spoke about using water and electricity judiciously, some people would protest. “Those issues are now in memory,” he said. “Today you all agree with me. Today the potatoes of Banaskantha are famous in the world.”He referred to past remarks of a politician about turning potatoes into gold. Modi added that farmers in Banaskantha have already been doing so for a long time.He mentioned the inauguration of a French fries plant and said it will benefit farmers. Modi spoke of the formation of clusters for crops including tomato, potato, chilli, pomegranate and cocoa, and the transformation of orchards.Modi credited government initiatives and said the average daily milk yield has risen. “More than 1.5 billion doses of vaccination have been administered against cattle diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease, covering over 80 million farmers,” he said. He stressed that farmers should be able to earn from cow dung through biogas and bio-CNG.He shared an anecdote of meeting a woman earlier in the day who sells milk worth ₹2 crore and said she had studied only up to Class 4.On fisheries, he said India’s seafood production has more than doubled. On agriculture, he accused previous governments of deception in the name of the Minimum Support Price (MSP). “But our government has fulfilled its promise on MSP. Over the past 12 years, wheat and paddy farmers have received ₹24 lakh crore through MSP,” he said.He added that farmers have received more than ₹2 lakh crore in compensation over the past 10-12 years under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.He said 1.2 million solar pumps have been handed over to farmers, reducing the need for diesel. “In the absence of these pumps, farmers would have had to buy an estimated 80 crore litres of diesel,” he said. The pumps also allow extra income from surplus electricity.He said more than 260 million soil health cards have been issued and nearly 3,000 new varieties of seeds have been provided to meet the challenge of climate change. “Agriculture is our culture,” he said. “Over the past 12 years, our government has extensively integrated science and technology into agriculture. We have brought scientific advancements into farming as well as animal husbandry. The Soil Health Card is an excellent example of this initiative.”Modi said the aim is that the milk currently obtained from four cows should eventually come from a single cow. He highlighted the role of Banas Dairy in expanding the dairy sector through the new breeding centre.Modi inaugurated a 127-acre Bharat Bovine Breeding and Research Centre at Bhildi. It is the country’s first Centre of Excellence for the indigenous Kankrej cattle breed. Other projects included metro extensions, road widening and Anganwadi centres.Modi said that National Unity Day (Ekta Parv), earlier celebrated in the morning on October 31, will henceforth be observed in the evening. “It will remind you of the January 26 parade,” he said.Modi was scheduled to attend programmes linked to Rashtriya Ekta Diwas on October 31, marking the 151st birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.