Jayant Chaudhary said the farmers' protest had now turned into a people's movement. (File)
Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) Jayant Chaudhary took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi getting emotional in the Parliament on Tuesday, saying had he shed some tears on the deaths of farmers during their protest, the situation would not have come to such a pass.
Addressing a farmer ''mahapanchayat'' (large congregation) near Iglas in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh district, Mr Chaudhary said the farmers' protest had now turned into a people's movement that was gathering momentum with each passing day, adding that there was no turning back.
Pointing at PM Modi's speech, Mr Chaudhary said, "If the Prime Minister had shed some tears on the death of large number of farmers during the farmers' protest, the situation would not have come to such a pass."
PM Modi broke down several times in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday while reminiscing about his close association with Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, whose term is coming to an end next week.
Mr Chaudhary said they were are not against modernisation of the farm sector. "Every sector needs reforms, but the thrust of such reforms should take into consideration that the size of farm holdings in India is shrinking with the passage of time," he said.
Thousands of farmers have been protesting at Delhi's borders since November-end demanding a repeal of the contentious central farm laws, which they fear would pave the way for the dismantling of the regulated wholesale markets and the minimum support price system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporations.
Reforms can only be meaningful if the genuine interests and ground realities of the farming community are factored in before launching the measures, the RLD leader said.
Mr Chaudhary said the government was now thinking of selling the public sector undertakings (PSUs) like the Life Insurance Corporation as part of the unprecedented disinvestment drive. He warned that the relentless disinvestment of profit-making PSUs would totally ruin the country's economy and only a handful of corporates would gain.
The RLD leader said by drastically cutting the outlay of the mid-day meal programme, the PM Modi government had clearly defined its priorities.