‘I’m repaying a debt’: Modi hands over land rights to 28,000 tea workers in historic Assam move

Speaking at the event, Modi claimed that measures by the BJP government for the welfare of farmers such the PM-KISAN scheme, crop insurance and loans, have helped protect farmers from international crises.

“Because of COVID-19 and the wars that followed, the prices of fertilisers had increased by many times in the international market. It had also become difficult to procure fertiliser in foreign markets. But the central government tried its best to stop this crisis. The same bag of urea which is available in the international market for Rs 3,000, our government has given the same bag to its farmers for only Rs 300. The government has spent more than Rs 12 lakh crore from its treasury on this, so that my farmers are not burdened,” he said.

He said that the government is encouraging “self-reliance” among farmers to protect them from global crises. He also hit out at the Congress, accusing it of “spreading rumours” and “false propaganda” over the current global crisis.

“On one hand, the BJP-NDA government is working tirelessly for the welfare of farmers and is dedicated to making the nation self-reliant; on the other hand, the Congress party has once again proven today that, under any circumstances, it lacks sincerity towards the nation. Even amidst the crisis stemming from the ongoing war, the Congress party remains solely focused on spreading rumors and false propaganda,” he said.

To the rival Congress, he said: “Do me a favor—go and listen to the speeches delivered by Pandit Nehru from the Red Fort on August 15th… In one such speech delivered from the Red Fort on August 15th, Pandit Nehru claimed that inflation in India was rising because a conflict was underway between North Korea and South Korea. Just consider the absurdity of it. Where are North Korea and South Korea located, and yet Nehru ji was attributing the rise in domestic inflation to that conflict. Today, the members of the Congress party are similarly engaged in misleading the nation”.

He said that the government has been working to reduce the railways’ dependence on foreign resources and to minimise the import of oil.

“The BJP-NDA government has worked to develop our refineries and to expand our refining capacity. Today, India stands as a nation capable of meeting not only its own energy requirements but also those of the greater world. The refineries located here in Assam, too, have undergone significant expansion over the past few years. Unprecedented investments are currently being channelled into gas pipeline infrastructure across the entire North-Eastern region, including Assam,” he said.

Speaking about the distribution of land pattas to tea-garden workers, in the labour lines of the tea gardens in which they work, Modi said that the move was a step towards correcting “historic injustices”. He also spoke of a personal connection with tea garden workers and said that the distribution of land pattas was an “opportunity to repay the debt I owe to my brothers and sisters of the tea gardens”.

“You toiled in the tea gardens, those same tea leaves reached my humble village in far-off Gujarat, and it was by selling that tea that I have reached the position I hold today. Now, tell me: had it not been for the blessings of the people of these tea gardens, would I ever have made it this far? It was the tea from these gardens that reached me, and today, I have reached you—standing right here amidst you.”

Earlier in the day, Modi had virtually unveiled projects worth over Rs 4,570 crore in Kokrajhar district, where he was supposed to travel to but was unable to because of inclement weather. He flagged off three new trains, the Kamakhya-Charlapalli Amrit Bharat Express, the Guwahati-New Jalpaiguri Express, and the Narangi-Agartala Express; laid the foundation stone of a Periodic Overhauling (POH) Workshop at Bashbari in the district; virtually took part in the ‘Bhoomi Poojan’ for Assam Mala 3.0, a major road infrastructure project; and virtually took part in the ‘Bhoomi Poojan’ for four flyovers and two bridges in the Bodoland Territorial Region.