Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that a new world order will emerge post-corona and India has to be prepared to take a major role in the new alignment. He was replying to the motion of thanks to the President’s address in the Lok Sabha. “The post-COVID world is turning out to be very different. In such times, remaining isolated from global trends will be counter-productive. We’ll have to emerge as a strong player. That is why, India is working towards building an Aatmanirbhar Bharat,”the PM said.

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The PM added, “We’re knocking at the doors of 75 yrs of independence. It’s a matter of pride for every Indian and an occasion to move forward. We may be in any corner or belong to any strata of society but we must make a new resolve that where do we want to take India at 100 years of freedom.”

Hours before the Prime Minister’s address, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) issued a three-line whip to all its MPs to be present in the House throughout the day to support the government’s stand.

The Budget session has been witnessing repeated disruptions over the ongoing agitation by farmers seeking the repeal of new farm laws that they say are anti-farmer

Prime Minister Modi, while replying to the motion of thanks in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, talked about the farmers’ issue and said that his government is working for the welfare of small farmers and assured that the minimum support price (MSP) will continue.

“Since 2014 we have initiated changes in the agriculture sector aimed at empowering the farmer. The crop insurance scheme was changed to make it more farmer-friendly. The PM-KISAN scheme was also brought in,” he told the Upper House of the Parliament.

While addressing the three farm laws and the ongoing protest against them, Modi also quoted former prime minister Manmohan Singh and said, “There are other rigidities because of the marketing regime set up in the 1930s which prevent our farmers from selling their produce where they get the highest rate of return. It is our intention to remove all those handicaps which come in the way of India realising its vast potential as one large common market.”

He also lashed out at protesters calling them ‘andolan jeevi’, who were habitual protesters and ‘are seen at every protest’.