Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that the new farm laws have brought new options and opportunities for farmers and also provides legal protection against to them.

Speaking at function in Varanasi, Modi said that while everyone can raise questions in a democracy there is a new trend where some people are spreading misinformation and canards against the decisions taken by the government.

"These forces have spread misinformation to such an extent that it is unbelievable. They did not even allow welfare schemes to be implemented in states where they are in power," he said

He said that the old system option was still open for farmers.

"These are the same people who have been duping farmers for decades. The MSP was always announced but never implemented. Their mega schemes never reached the beneficiaries," he said.

Modi listed the various schemes announced by his government for farmers including mobile cold storage, micro irrigation and access to a global market. "Black rice from this region now has a market in Australia," he said.

He said that his government had also implemented the pension scheme for farmers and 21 lakh farmers have even been linked to the scheme.

He said that farmers could not be blamed because they have suffered for decades and have been fleeced.

(IANS)