Press Information Bureau

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and Rural Development Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan today participated in a ceremony organised to mark the 110th birth anniversary of Jagadguru Dr. Sri Shivarathri Rajendra Mahaswamiji at Shri Suttur Math in Mysuru, Karnataka. A large number of representatives from various political parties, saints and devotees were present at the event.

Addressing the gathering, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that serving the downtrodden is the truest form of worship.”Politics divides, but religion unites, and today religion has united all of us to serve humanity”, he stated.  The Union Minister said that the Math has been playing an unparalleled role in social welfare and serving humanity for several years. From education to healthcare, the activities of the Math in various fields have set the direction of change. The dedication and spirit of service with which work is being done makes the environment here unique. He said that “politics divides, religion unites, and serving the downtrodden is the truest form of worship”. Further, he said that along with taking our religion on the right path, the Math is engaged in social work and also trying to serve people as much as possible.

Shri Chouhan said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi gave him the honour to become the Agriculture Minister, and as the minister, he believes that agriculture is the backbone of the Indian economy and farmers are its soul. “Farmers are our life, food providers, givers of life, and serving farmers is true devotion for me,” he said. Stating that continuous efforts are on for the welfare of our farmer brothers and sisters, he said not one but many schemes have been started under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. “Our focus is to ensure that production in farming increases and cost decreases …farm produces should get fair prices, if crops are lost then proper compensation should be given, and agricultural diversification is also very necessary. There are many benefits of integrated farming, which we have to adopt,” he said.

The Minister said that compared to foreign countries, the size of agricultural land holdings in India are small. While farmers in countries like the United States of America, Australia, and Brazil are having big land holdings, farmers in our country are having only one or two hectares, one or two acres, or two-and-a-half acres of agricultural land. Therefore, we have to take steps with renewed efforts to make agriculture profitable.

The Union Agriculture Minister also took a strong stance on tariffs. Shri  Chouhan said that today everyone should forget political and ideological differences and unite for the larger interest of the nation. He said that some countries are behaving like dictators, which is becoming a crisis for the rest of the world. We must unite to save the world. He said that the global humanity, which is suffering at the hands of capitalism, will be guided to the path of eternal peace only by India. Shri Chouhan further said that India faces several challenges as tariffs are being imposed. But India’s strong stand is very clear in front of the world. In such an environment, the sentiment of patriotism should be rekindled in the country. He said that on the call of the Prime Minister, every citizen should take a pledge that in their daily life, they should use only those products that are made in our country (swadeshi). This is very necessary, as adopting indigenous products will strengthen our country’s economy. The Union Minister expressed confidence that citizens will chart a new history in the direction of adopting swadeshi.

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