After "pro-farmer" budget, Narendra Modi asks NDA MPs to take crop insurance scheme to farmers

A day after praising the budget as "pro-village, pro-poor and pro-farmer", Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked NDA MPs to ensure 100 per cent coverage of farmers under the new crop insurance scheme.

Modi's enthusiasm about farmers getting access to the Pradhan Manti Fasal Bima Yojana scheme was evident on Tuesday morning when he intervened while parliamentary affairs minister Venkaiah Naidu was addressing NDA MPs. Naidu was making a 60-point presentation on achievements of government, when Modi, who was not on the dais, got up and asked the MPs to take it up as a challenge to ensure 100 per cent coverage in their constituencies, according to sources. The government, which had been accused of being anti-farmer when it tried to make changes to the land acquisition bill, views the scheme as a game-changer.

Sensing an unrest on PF withdrawal tax proposal, which has caused concern among the salaried middle class, finance minister Arun Jaitley told the MPs that it was aimed at incentivising pension and ensuring a security blanket in view of concerns over people not being adequately insured and pensioned. The announcement was also opposed by RSS-affiliated trade union BMS and Swadeshi Jagran Manch.

The Tuesday morning BJP parliamentary party was converted into an NDA meeting, but the Shiv Sena was not present due to a "communication gap", sources said. Shiv Sena sources said the party got the message about the meeting "too late".

Jaitley also said Government has enhanced public spending in critical areas to keep up the growth momentum in the context of global economic challenges.

He said the budget was aimed at addressing rural distress while seeking to give a fillip to economic growth by improving infrastructure and business and investment climate. He said the government did not believe in a budget just for applause by announcing welfare schemes and then rolling them back as done by previous governments. He pointed out that the previous government has cut down plan expenditure by over Rs one lakh crore per year. He said that on the contrary NDA government has spent more than budgeted plan outlay.

BJP President Amit Shah, who was present at the meeting, complimented Jaitley for presenting a "pro-farmer and pro-village" budget with "innovative" reform measures.

Naidu spoke of developments relating to incidents in JNU and Hyderabad Central University and asked MPs to counter opposition charges. When he referred to the "spirited" reply of HRD Minister Smriti Irani, there was a loud applause.

He informed the members that the Prime Minister would reply to the discussion on Motion of Thanks to President Address in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.