Cong 'injuring' farmers' interests with 'dagger of deceit': Naqvi on protest

New Delhi: Slamming the Congress for opposing the farm bills, Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Monday said the opposition party is "injuring" farmers' interests with its "dagger of deceit" in a bid to turn its "barren political land" fertile.

While addressing farmers during "Kisan Chaupal" in Moradabad's Lodhipur village, Naqvi said the commitment of the Modi government to double the income of the farmers has "quadrupled the worry of brokers and middlemen". The Congress is trying to protect "fiefdom of feudal middlemen" by opposing the agriculture reform bills, the Minority Affairs minister alleged.

Agriculture-based India has moved forward on the path of farmers' welfare with farmers getting respect for their hardwork and a fair price for their produce, Naqvi was quoted as saying in a statement by his office. He said the agriculture reform bills of the Modi government are the guarantee of "happiness and prosperity" of crores of farmers of the country.

These bills will ensure economic empowerment of the farmers by providing them freedom from the clutches of middlemen, he said. Naqvi alleged that the Congress and its allies are putting obstacles on the path of economic empowerment of the farmers.

The Congress and its allies are committing the "sin of protecting the middlemen" and farmers of the country will never forgive the party for this, he said.