Prime Minister Narendra Modi touched upon the key issue of land bill in his speech in Punjab's Ferozepur district, which he was visiting to pay tributes to freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru.
Referring to the bill, on which the government is facing stiff opposition, he said, there is an effort to "mislead the farmers of India". "I spoke about this in my radio programme 'Mann ki Baat'." he said.
"If the country has to develop, the farmer has to develop. If there is no development, the sons of farmers will have to focus on winning their daily bread," he said. "I ask the sons of farmers, do you want to live in the slums of Mumbai or Delhi?"
The government has been making repeated attempts to bring all stakeholders - political parties, activists and farmers - on board regarding the bill.
The Congress had slammed the remarks, saying the government's move to bring changes in the Bill was a "smoke screen" to benefit industrialists.
"We are here to give you a corruption-free government," he said. "Just in the auction of coal blocks, lakh of crores were lost to corruption". The NDA government, he said, auctioned only 18 mines and has managed to ensure Rs 2 lakh crore from the sale.
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