Shivraj Singh Chouhan: The ‘VB-G-Ram-G’ bill passed in the Lok Sabha; Agriculture Minister says the opposition is insulting Bapu (Mahatma Gandhi)

Amidst the uproar from opposition parties in Parliament today, Shivraj Singh Chouhan gave a detailed response to the Developed India G-Ram-G Bill. He said that the opposition does not even want to listen to the government’s response. The Union Agriculture Minister, presenting figures released by the government, said that previous governments had misused funds, but his government has emphasized spending on development projects. Shivraj Singh Chouhan claimed that the government has brought the bill for the welfare of farmers and the poor, which is being opposed.

He said, “First of all, I want to thank you in this sacred House. I want to thank the Speaker. We have heard the views of the honorable members on this subject. Now it is my right to respond. I seek your protection. I listened to the honorable members until 1:30 AM. To speak your mind and then not listen to the response is to tear apart democratic traditions. It is to violate the Constitution. They are also killing the ideals of Bapu (Mahatma Gandhi). Speak your mind and don’t listen to us. This is also violence. The Congress and the rest of the opposition are doing the work of killing Bapu’s ideals.”

‘We are people who follow Gandhi’s ideals’: Agriculture Minister
He said, “First of all, I want to pay my respects at the feet of revered Bapu (Mahatma Gandhi). Bapu is our reverence. Bapu is our ideal. Bapu is our inspiration. Bapu is our faith. Therefore, Honorable Speaker, the Bharatiya Janata Party has given a place to Gandhi’s socio-economic philosophy in its five core principles. We are people who follow Gandhi’s ideals. Gandhi himself said that the village is the soul of India. If the villages die, India will die.”

‘We do not discriminate against any state’
The Agriculture Minister said, “This is a bill for the development of villages. The honorable opposition members have made many kinds of allegations. One thing they said is that we discriminate. The whole country is one for us. Whether it is Chennai or Guwahati, our country, our land. Different languages, different attire, yet one country.” He further added, “I want to tell them what Atal Ji had said.” Honorable Speaker, we do not discriminate against any state in the country. Our leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee had said, “This country is not just a piece of land for us; it is a living, breathing nation.”

Responding to Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi’s remarks, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that the Modi government is not driven by whims. He said that to glorify their own family, they named government schemes only after the Nehru family instead of Mahatma Gandhi. Accusing the Congress of being preoccupied with glorifying their family, Shivraj said that schemes were named after the Nehru family. He claimed that 25 schemes were named after the late Rajiv Gandhi and 27 after Indira Gandhi. In addition, educational institutions, roads, buildings, and awards were also named after members of this family.