Amid farmers stir; PM Modi backs Tomar’s open letter, calls it 'attempt at polite dialogue'

PM Modi urges protesting farmers to read Agriculture Minister Tomar's letter, Home Minister Amit Shah shares it on social media too.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (December 17, 2020) appealed to the protesting farmers to read the open letter shared by Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar. 

PM Modi appreciated Tomar's "attempt to have a polite dialogue" with the farmers through the open letter.

Taking to Twitter, PM Modi shared the tweet of the open letter posted by Tomar. PM Modi wrote in Hindi which roughly translates to: "Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has expressed his feelings by writing a letter to the farmer brothers and sisters, attempting to have a polite dialogue. I request all the farmers to read it. The countrymen are also urged that they should extend it to as many people as possible."

कृषि मंत्री @nstomar जी ने किसान भाई-बहनों को पत्र लिखकर अपनी भावनाएं प्रकट की हैं, एक विनम्र संवाद करने का प्रयास किया है। सभी अन्नदाताओं से मेरा आग्रह है कि वे इसे जरूर पढ़ें। देशवासियों से भी आग्रह है कि वे इसे ज्यादा से ज्यादा लोगों तक पहुंचाएं। https://t.co/9B4d5pyUF1 — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 17, 2020

Earlier today, amid protests on Delhi borders against the new farm laws, the BJP minister wrote an open letter to the farmers, saying "misunderstanding has been created among some farmer unions" and "white lies" are being spread on Minimum Support Price.

In the letter, the minister said that many farmers across the country getting advantage of the new farm laws. He added that some farmer organizations are causing confusion to farmers about the laws.

"The confusion regarding laws, MSP, Mandi, and land is being spread. Some people are spreading lies for politics. I used to water my field till late at night, sometimes I used to wait for many days to sell my produce, I am aware of all this. Some people are lying to the farmers that the MSP will be closed," he wrote.

He added, "The government is committed to farmers with policy and intention. MSP will continue. When the security challenges continue on the border in Leh-Ladakh...when there is a snowfall of several feet...then these people who stop the trains carrying logistics for the soldiers towards the border cannot be farmers."

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also retweeted Tomar`s letter and said only PM Modi can fulfil the goal of doubling the farmers` income, adding that people who have "looted" them for 60 years are "misleading" them.