Vice President expresses hope of early, reasonable solution to farmers' issues
Dec 16, 2020
New Delhi [India], December 16 : Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday expressed hope that a reasonable solution will be found on the issues raised by the agitating farmers since both the government and the farmers are willing to talk to each other.
Speaking at the awards ceremony jointly organized by Rythu Nestham and Muppavarapu Foundation at the Swarna Bharat Trust in Muchintal in Hyderabad, the Vice President referred to media reports on the demands of the agitating farmers and the response of the representatives of the central government and added that he saw the possibility of certain meeting ground.
An official release said he expected both the sides to crystallize the meeting point based on an understanding of each other's position. He expressed the hope that both the sides would have a fruitful and meaningful dialogue.
The Vice President pointed out that restriction-free marketing of farm produce has been a long-standing demand which he himself had articulated several times. 'One country and one food zone' has been the demand for a long time.
Observing that the country's development is closely tied with the progress of farmers, Naidu compared farmers' compassion with that of a mother and said that it was the duty of everybody to support farmers.
He lauded the farmers for rendering a great service to the nation during the pandemic by producing record food grains in spite of facing hardship. He also appreciated the efforts of the doctors, sanitation workers, police and media personnel during the pandemic.
Naidu said that both the Centre and State Governments should work as 'Team India' in addressing the needs of the farmers. He said that apart from ensuring remunerative prices, the farmers should be provided with timely and affordable credit. There was also a need to increase the cold storage facilities and the godowns at all levels. Every tehsil must have a cold storage facility, he noted.
Pointing out that the people of India always accorded a very high status to agriculture, he said this was the reason why country's festivals and rituals are closely associated with agriculture.
In order to achieve progress in agriculture, the Vice President called for a change in the perspective towards agriculture among people and urged the youth to become proactive partners in promoting farming.
