Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday reiterated that the Centre was addressing concerns of farmers over the new legislations, but blamed Opposition parties of misguiding them.

Speaking yet again on the farmers’ agitation over the three new agri-marketing laws, Modi said, “Farmers gathered near Delhi are being misled as part of a conspiracy. Farmers are told that their land will be grabbed by others if new farm reforms get implemented. I want to ask you, did the dairy owner take your cattle because you are selling milk to him.”

The Prime Minister was speaking at an event following after laying the foundation stone of a desalination plant, a hybrid renewable energy park and a fully automated milk processing and packing plant at Gujarat.

“Opposition parties, when they were in power, were in favour of these farm sector reforms, but did not take any decision back then. Now when the country has decided to embrace these reforms, these people are spreading falsehood and misleading farmers. I want to reiterate that my government is ready 24 hours to resolve all your doubts,” he added.

Last week, the BJP had accused the Congress of instigating the farmers and opposing the farm laws.

The Prime Minister also interacted with farmers from the Kutch district of his native state, including those who have settled there from Punjab, as well as members of a local self-help group.

The PM met delegations of farmers from Punjab settled in Kutch district as well as local cultivators and heard their issues with Chief Minister Vijay Rupani accompanying him.

The PM also interacted with a group of local women from a self-help group at the venue.

Sikh farmers cultivate land in areas near the Indo-Pak border. As per a rough estimate, around 5,000 Sikh families reside in and around Lakhpat taluka of Kutch district.

Sikhs started settling in Lakhpat after the then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri urged citizens to settle in this barren patch of land after the 1965 India-Pakistan war.

The separate interactions took place on the sidelines of Modi’s event, where he laid foundation stones for the world's largest hybrid renewable energy park, a desalination plant and a milk processing plant.

The meeting during Modi’s day-long visit at Gujarat comes at a time when thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, are protesting against the three farm laws demanding their repeal. It took place at the tent city of Dhordo in Kutch district, where Modi laid the foundation stones.