Under fire from the Opposition for his Government’s “pro-corporate” policies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday did what he does best — talk to people directly.

In addition to BJP President Amit Shah turning the party national executive into a platform for marketing the government’s “pro-people” initiatives and showing the opponents their comparative insignificance with the claim of staggering ten crore membership for the BJP, the Prime Minister strode into a public rally on Friday evening to reclaim his humble origins.

“I am a man of the people. I am a son of the soil. I have not descended from the heavens. I have lived with the poor, the people in our villages. I understand their poverty, their misery.

“I have seen farmers who have sold their precious land to pay bribes for their son’s employment as a driver or a peon. Should these farmers be protected or not?” he asked the crowd.

The Centre is facing stiff opposition with the Congress planning a mega rally in the Capital on April 19 against the proposed Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015. Additionally, the Union Budget has been criticised for not making adequate allocations for the agriculture sector. “The country is bigger than the party. The country will not progress till the village progresses. That is why we want to empower the farmer. He cannot prosper by throwing money at him. In the agriculture sector, we need technology, infrastructure development, irrigation, roads, 24-hour electricity. We have been unfair to the farmer in the last 60 years.

“My Government’s objective is that through the PM Irrigation Scheme, the farmer should get water for his fields. His land should be protected against losing nutrients and becoming barren.

“We have introduced a soil health card for the purpose. This is a health card for the mother earth,” Modi said.

In his quintessential emotive style, the Prime Minister identified with the farmer: “The farmer of my country will grow gold from stones. We understand that strength. But for channelling that strength, he needs to be guided properly. He should get the right seed, enough water. His crop should get proper prices. There should be value addition.”

He accused the opposition of “ rajnaitik rotian saik rahe hain (people are doing petty politics with the farmer)” but claimed they do not really care how per hectare yields should increase in the fields.

He claimed that the Government is “trying to reform land records so that farmers get their land back.”

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