A day after India signed an agreement with Mozambique to import pulses from the African country, BKU president Bhupinder Singh Mann today said the slogan of 'Make in India' is "hoax, hollow and baseless" without participation of farmers.
Instead of entering into agreements with other countries, why doesn't Prime Minister Narendra Modi purchase from Indian farmers, he asked.
Mann, a former RS member, said if Indian farmers are adequately paid for their crops, India will not have to "beg" before other countries for "dals and pulses".
As Prime Minister Modi is on a visit to African countries, India and Mozambique signed an agreement yesterday under which India will buy pulses from the African nation to meet its recurring shortfall and contain its prices.
"The Indian farmer is hardworking and experienced and has won accolades in agriculture in places like America, Africa, Italy wherever he has settled and adopted agriculture as a profession," the Bharti Kisan Union chief said.
However, they are victims of many sanctions and restrictions and they are virtually being treated as a "slave" in this country, he said.
The decision to import pulses proves that the slogan of 'Make in India' is only limited to few corporate houses and Modi wants to "inflict a slow death" on the Indian farmers by importing these items from foreign countries rather than encouraging local farmers to produce here, he said.
