Agriculture, farmer welfare has always been BJP's legacy: PM

Hitting out at the Siddaramiah government for its "indifference" towards implementing the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked the party's Kisan Morcha workers in the state to convince the farmers on the need for a government that is sensitive towards their issues.

In his address to BJP Kisan Morcha Karyakartas via the 'Narendra Modi App,' the prime minister said, agriculture and farmer welfare has always been the BJP's legacy.

“I keep getting complaints regarding Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana from Karnataka, but one of our MPs has done a great work in his constituency with the help of Kisan morcha workers,” he said.

Modi said, “The Karnataka government was indifferent...it did not care about the benefits that a farmer can get from the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana."      

“If the state government was active during the drought it would have benefited farmers, but they did not do it,” he added.

Modi on Wednesday launched his campaign blitzkrieg by addressing three public rallies in the poll-bound state.

Highlighting the role of Kisan Morcha activists in reaching out to the farmers, the Prime Minister called on them to convince farmers about the need for a government that is sensitive to their issues.

He said, “We have to convince farmers and we will have to give them confidence that this is the time, there should be a government that is sensitive to farmers, that understands their problems...welfare of farmers is its primary responsibility.”

Noting that the media has called his government's 2018-19 budget as farmers' budget and budget for rural India, Modi said, "Agriculture and farmers' welfare has always been our legacy, it has been our nature, it has been our way of thinking."