Union Home Minister Amit Shah today said that Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s vision had been realised with the abrogation of Article 370. Mr. Shah paid tribute to Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee on his death anniversary, describing him as one of country’s greatest leaders whose contributions helped preserve the country’s unity and integrity.
Addressing a gathering in New Delhi during the launch of NAFED’s auction portal, Mr. Shah said June 23 holds special significance for Bharatiya Janata Party workers as it marks the day Syama Prasad Mookerjee sacrificed his life for national unity. Recalling the partition era, he said Syama Prasad Mookerjee played a key role in ensuring that West Bengal remained part of India.
The Home Minister also spoke about Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir. He said the provision created a separate constitutional framework for the region, with its own Constitution, flag, Prime Minister and President. He said Syama Prasad Mookerjee strongly opposed the arrangement and raised the slogan that there could not be two constitutions, two flags and two Prime Ministers in one country. He also highlighted the journey of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, founded by Mookerjee, which later evolved into the Bharatiya Janata Party.
On this occasion, the Home Minister Amit Shah, called for eliminating the role of intermediaries in procurement operations to strengthen direct farmer participation. Mr Shah said pulse and oilseed procurement should increasingly be conducted directly from farmers to ensure the full benefits of Minimum Support Price (MSP) reach farmers. Referring to NAFED’s progress, Mr Shah said that the organization, which was facing severe financial difficulties 12 years ago, has emerged as a strong institution serving 74 lakh farmers today. He said NAFED now operates with a turnover of 30 thousand crore rupees and a profit of about 500 crore rupees.
Addressing the event, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that agriculture production has witnessed significant growth over the past decade. He also congratulated the teams of NAFED and National Cooperative Consumers Federation (NCCF) for leveraging modern technology to make the procurement process transparent and farmer-friendly. He noted that, with the help of this portal, farmers receive payments directly to their bank accounts within 48 hours.
During the event, Mr Shah also launched several important digital and farmer-centric initiatives of NAFED. These include the NAFED-KALYAN scholarship for children of farmers, the DRISHTI portal for inventory management of pulses and oilseed and the ERP portal for strengthening enterprise resource planning.
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