India: Modi slams months-long farm protests as 'insult' to country

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has criticized recent protests by farmers in New Delhi that followed months-long agitation over the government's new agricultural laws, calling them an "insult" to the country.

According to reports, Modi's condemnation came after a tractor parade on India's Republic Day on Tuesday turned violent when some protesters clashed with police and broke into a historical complex in the capital, which resulted in the death of one individual and the injury of hundreds of others.

Tens of thousands of Indian farmers have camped on the outskirts of New Delhi for more than two months, protesting new agricultural laws that they say benefit private buyers at the expense of growers.

"The country was saddened by the insult to the Tricolor (Indian flag) on the 26th of January in Delhi," Modi said in a radio address on Sunday.

"The government is committed to modernizing agriculture and is also taking many steps in that direction."

Authorities in India's Farming Union have denied responsibility for the Tuesday violence and said it was caused by a minority of those who had participated in the parade.

The confrontation, which paralyzed the city and left one farmer dead and hundreds of farmers and police officers wounded, prompted thousands of people to rally in the city to reinforce the months-long protest.

Farmer unions demand that Modi’s government repeal the new laws, which they say will affect nearly 70 percent of the 1.3-billion population who are drawing their livelihood from agriculture.

Modi’s government introduced the new agricultural laws in September, stressing that the reforms will open up new opportunities for farmers.

The newly-passed laws could have a significant impact on consumers globally as India is the leading exporter of Basmati rice and the world's largest milk producer, according to the country's Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority.

The south Asian country is also the world's largest producer and exporter of spices.

Modi's government has over the past years made some other provocative decisions that have outraged various people from different ethnicities across the country.

SS