PM Modi asks farmers not to get misled by propaganda, says agricultural reforms will provide better legal protection

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 30 sought to alleviate farmers fears pointing out that the government's decisions are meant to improve their lives and the new agricultural reforms will give them better legal protection.

"Farmers are being empowered by giving them options for a bigger market. Reforms are being done in the interest of farmers, which will give them more options. Shouldn't a farmer get the freedom to sell his produce directly to those who give them better prices and facilities?" PM Modi asked during his address at a function in Varanasi even as farmers' protests against the contentious farm bills continued.

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"Governments make policies... (and) it's obvious there would be questions asked of them. This is a part of democracy. But in the past few days, we have seen a different trend in India: before it used to be that if people did not like a government's decision, there used to be opposition, but now we are seeing that the opposition is due to rumours and propaganda," the prime minister said while ostensibly referring to the ongoing protests and the Bharatiya Janata Party's allegations that the farmers are being "misled" by the Opposition.