Prime minister Narendra Modi on Sunday promised to double farmers income while speaking at the inauguration of a Rs 300 crore chocolate plant of Amul in Anand, the milk capital of India.

He said the co-operative movement has shown that an alternative to economic prosperity other than socialism and capitalism exists. The Prime Minister in all inaugurated Rs 1100 crore worth of projects including an incubation centre at  Anand Agricultural University and a solar co-operative society at Mujhkuva village.

Crediting, Sardar Patel of helping develop and strengthen the cooperative movement, Modi said that it was under Patel’s leadership as chairman of the then Ahmedabad Municipality that the first co-operative housing society was developed in Ahmedabad.

Taking potshots at the Opposition and his critics, Modi said that often those with limited knowledge when faced with things beyond their understanding take to criticism just for the sake of it. “I remember that during the Rannotsav (an initiative of the Gujarat government to promote tourism in Kutch) programe, I had espoused on the nutritional value of the camel’s milk and how it can aid us in providing nutrition to children. At that time they made fun of me. But today Amul is producing chocolate from camel’s milk and it is in much demand. In fact camel’s milk earns a farmer double the price than cow milk,” said Modi. 

He said through initiatives like these, the co-operative movement has provided a source of income to those who live in deserts. He said that thanks to the debilitating attitude of earlier governments in Gandhinagar, the milk co-operative movement had been hampered from making inroads into other parts of Gujarat.  “In Kutch and Saurashtra, where animal husbandry is a major source of livelihood, it had become practically impossible to continue with the co-operative movement. But since the BJP came to power in Gujarat we have encouraged it and now the results are for everyone to see,” said Modi.

Modi will also visit Anjar to inaugurate a Mundra LNG terminal, the Anjar-Mundra Pipeline Project and Palanpur-Pali-Barmer pipeline project. He will then go to Rajkot for inauguration of Mahatma Gandhi Museum.