Modi unveils Chhotu Ram's statue, lauds his fight for farmers' cause

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday unveiled a statue of Sir Chhotu Ram in Rohtak district of Haryana and lauded his progressive thinking and relentless work for securing the rights of the poor and farmers.

Addressing a gathering after unveiling the statue in Sampla town, around 65 km from Delhi, the Prime Minister said the peasant leader was the first to fight for securing minimum support price (MSP) for crops during the British rule.

He said that it was due to the vision of Sir Chhotu Ram, who initiated the Bhakra Dam hydroelectric project in the 1940s, that farmers of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan benefitted for many years.

Union Minister for Steel Birender Singh, a Jat leader from Haryana and grandson of Sir Chhotu Ram, was present at the unveiling of the 64 feet tall statue.

Sir Chhotu Ram (1881-1945) was a well-known farmer leader of the pre-independence era.

Modi said his government had increased the MSP for wheat by Rs 200 per quintal and was trying to fulfil other demands of the farming community.

"Our government is working on providing a platform for 'seed to market' concept that will benefit farmers," the Prime Minister said.

Haryana and Himachal Governors Satyadeo Narain Arya and Acharya Devvrat, their Jammu and Kashmir counterpart Satya Pal Malik, Union Minister of State Krishan Pal Gurjar and Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar were also present.

Modi visited a museum dedicated to Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram.

He later laid the foundation stone of a Rs 500 crore Rail Coach Factory (RCF) at Barhi in Sonipat district.

The Prime Minister will unveil a statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, said to be the tallest in the world, on October 31 near Vadodara in Gujarat.

--IANS

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