Lal Bahadur Shastri should be remembered for Green Revolution, M S Swaminathan was only ‘his tool’: Giriraj Singh

Narrating an episode from the 1960s where India had to import wheat from the United States, Singh said that Shastri saw that the wheat supplied to India was being used as fodder for animals in the US. “Seeing this he refused to procure the wheat,” he said, adding that Swaminathan and other bureaucrats were left dumbfounded by PM Shastri’s decision.

Awarded with Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri, Professor M S Swaminathan has been known for spearheading the Green Revolution in India by introducing high-yielding wheat and rice varieties in India.

The minister also rued that only a few students choose to practice agriculture after their studies. “Which student wants to go into agriculture or set up a dairy?” he asked the graduating IRMA students. When a few students raised their hands, Singh added, “You will be working for Amul and NDDB, but you don’t have the confidence to go to the village and begin a start-up for livestock. When you do not have the confidence then what will you contribute to Amul or NDDB? You will end up walking on the same hackneyed path.”

On Thursday, 283 students were conferred with degrees, including those for Post-Graduate Diploma in Management. In an official statement, the IRMA stated that all the students were placed during a week-long placement process. The highest package bagged is Rs 26.5 lakh per annum, while the average salary this year was Rs 15.5 lakh per annum.

Describing himself as a “student” in a class where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the “headmaster”, Singh said, “After Covid pandemic, the entire world acknowledges him as a management guru.” He also described PM Modi as a good listener.

Listing out the various works done by PM Modi during the last nine years, Singh said, “It costs about Rs 3 lakh for an IVF procedure in humans. But the Narendra Modi government has made IVF possible for Rs 21,000 for cattle reared by farmers. The success rate is 25-30 per cent in both humans and animals,” he said, adding that the cost of the procedure will be borne by the state and central governments and local milk unions who will contribute Rs 5,000 each, while the farmer will contribute Rs 6,000.