Praising his government for shouldering the burden of the crude oil price rise due to the West Asia war, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that when oil prices increased, his government hiked the diesel price by just Rs 7 per litre instead of the required increase of Rs 50 per litre in the interests of farmers.“The government is bearing a loss of Rs 14,000 crore a month,” he said, adding that in neighbouring countries, the prices soared by 40-50%. The PM was speaking at the India Today Group’s ‘Kisan Tak Agriculture Conference’ months before Uttar Pradesh and Punjab go to the polls.In an oblique attack on the Congress, he said intoxicated by power even when in opposition, some people who carry the Constitution in their pockets “think that Indian democracy and the Constitution are in their pocket”.Recalling the time when the Congress-led UPA was in power, Modi said Gujarat stood first in one of the media rankings when he was the Chief Minister. “The agency that ranked Gujarat first was named after a former Prime Minister. Those in power did not like Gujarat’s praise, and they told the researchers to seek permission before publishing any report. Those very people preach tolerance today,” he said.He said Viksit Bharat could not become a reality without smart farming and empowerment of farmers, adding that while previous governments had ignored farmers, his government was focusing not just on surplus production in agriculture but also on empowering farmers.Modi said that a recent World Bank study showed that 50 crore people in India have come out of poverty in just 12-13 years and small farmers were among the beneficiaries. He underlined that agriculture has shown an average 4% growth for the first time in a decade since Independence. “Those who ran governments for decades were satisfied that farmers filled godowns. But what did the farmers get? Filling godowns alone isn’t enough.” Farmers needed to be empowered. It was in the last decade, he said, that effective steps were taken in this direction.Modi said the growth in agricultural exports has increased the income of farmers. He said India was No. 1 in the production of milk, rice, jute, and No. 2 in the production of wheat and fish. He also said that India topped the world in the production of millets. “These show how the abilities of the Indian farmer have grown.”Story continues below this adHe said the government was also focusing on crop diversification. India’s milk production has increased by 70%, egg production (90%) and fish production doubled in the last decade.The PM recalled his efforts to improve the condition of farming and farmers as Gujarat CM, adding that the experience helped him a lot when he became the PM. He underlined that the number of soil testing labs increased during his tenure.Modi said some people with outdated thinking believe that technology can’t be used in villages, adding “Namo drone didis have proved them wrong. The mechanisation was bringing down the cost of agriculture.”He urged manufacturers to focus on solar-powered farming-related equipment. “We have to make our ‘annadatas’ agri-preneurs.” The PM also called upon farmers to adopt natural farming and save the soil from damage due to excessive use of chemicals, underlining that this was the duty of people to ‘Mother Earth’.Story continues below this adEarlier in the day, during a Diwali Milan programme at the BJP headquarters, the PM said India has fascinating achievements to share with the world and urged the media to spotlight these successes on the global stage, terming them as the ‘India Story’.Modi said that in the world of news, one thing is very important — the deadline. “Today, our country is also working toward a deadline. That deadline is the year 2047… We must work together to make India a developed nation before we complete 100 years of Independence,” the PM said.