Amid farmers protests, here's what PM Narendra Modi said about farm laws in Mann Ki Baat

The Prime Minister said the recent agriculture reforms have begun mitigating the troubles of farmers in a short span of time. He said these reforms have not only freed peasants from various shackles but have also bestowed on them new rights and opportunities.

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NEW DELHI: Amid ongoing protests by a section of farmers against new farm laws, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (November 28) asserted that these agricultural reforms have not only freed peasants from various shackles but have also bestowed on them new rights and opportunities.

Addressing his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio programme, Modi said the recent agriculture reforms have begun mitigating the troubles of farmers in a short span of time as he cited the example of a Maharashtra farmer who used the provisions of the new laws to get the money promised to him by a trader.

"Since ages, these demands of farmers which at one point of time or the other all political parties had promised to them, have now been fulfilled. After deep deliberations, Parliament recently passed farm reform laws," he said.

"These reforms have not only freed the farmers from various shackles, but have also given them new rights and opportunities. In such a short span of time, these rights have started reducing the problems of farmers," he said.

His remarks come at a time when thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, have dug in their heels at Delhi's border points and hundreds have gathered at the city's Burari ground, united in their determination to hold protests against the new farm laws.

Apart from the farm laws, which is in the news due to the agitation carried out by farmers, PM Modi touched upon various other topics ranging from the idol of goddess Annapurna, stolen in 1913 from Varanasi, being brought back to India from Canada, to emphasising that educational institutions should harness the strengths and talents of their alumni. He also spoke about the reopening of Kartarpur Gurudwara and remembered Guru Nanak Dev birth anniversary, which is falling on November 30.