“It was on this day that Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee made the supreme sacrifice to realise the principle of ‘One Nation, One Constitution, One Head’ and to keep the country united,” Shah said while addressing the launch of four major initiatives – NAFEX.in, DRISHTI, ERP and NAFED Kalyan – by the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED). Shah also holds the cooperative ministry portfolio.
The home minister said that after Independence, Article 370 was implemented in Kashmir, due to which Kashmir had a separate flag and Constitution. “This idea was extremely dangerous for the unity and integrity of India. At that time, Dr Mookerjee launched a movement asserting that in one country there cannot be two constitutions, two flags and two heads,” Shah noted.
Shah said that Mookerjee marched from Delhi to Kashmir and declared that Kashmir was an integral part of India. Shah said that in 2014, NAFED was on the verge of closure, but due to the government’s efforts, it is today serving more than 74 lakh farmers with a turnover of ₹30,000 crore and a profit of ₹500 crore.
He said that when NAFED was facing a deep financial crisis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to run it with complete transparency. He said that the government provided financial assistance and helped restore the organisation to a strong footing. Shah said that within the next two years, efforts would be made to ensure that all farmers are able to sell pulses directly to these two organisations and receive payments directly in their bank accounts.
