Farmers Movement Archive

In RS, Opposition observes silence for 194 dead farmers

Opposition parties on Thursday observed a two-minute silence in the Rajya Sabha to pay tributes to 194 farmers who died in the past few months during the farmers’ protest on the Delhi borders. Manoj K. Jha (Rashtriya Janata Dal), who opened the debate, accused the government of holding a monologue instead of a dialogue. The Delhi border was more fortified than India’s international borders, he said. “With folded hands, I request you to please understand the pain of farmers. In harsh winter, you stopped water supply and toilet facilities, dug trenches, put barbed wires, and installed spikes.” Mr. Jha hit out at the government for its alleged aversion to dissent. “The greatest act of patriotism is to speak about the well-being of the nation, and that does not mean that I should stand in the orchestra party of the government forever and always,” he said. Bihar ended minimum support price (MSP)-based crop procurement in 2006 and it now had only contractual labourers and not farmers. “Bihar has been turned into a labour-supply State. You want a Bihar model in Punjab and Haryana?” he asked. Deve Gowda’s plea Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda appealed to the government to resolve the issue amicably. He said the government could not end the protest by punishing farmers. In a nearly hour-long speech, Trinamool leader Derek O’ Brien alleged that the government had failed on all accounts. “In these times, we must be thankful for small freedoms like the freedom to speak without the mike being muted, like the freedom to speak without the video feed being censored, like the freedom to speak and express ourselves in this Council of States as per the rules without being dragged out by marshals,” he said. The first account of government failure was in upholding the sanctity of Parliament, he said referring to September last year, when the three farm rules were passed in the Rajya Sabha amid pandemonium. “How, in our small way, can we bow our heads to these 194 farmers who passed away? Sometimes words are not enough. So, me and my colleagues will stand in silence in tribute to the farmers who lost their lives,” he said. The entire Opposition, following, stood up as a tribute to the farmers who lost their lives in the movement. Sanjay Singh of the Aam Aadmi Party said, “Adani’s application to change land use of 100 acres was pending with Haryana government. It was cleared in May, and in June, the farm ordinances were signed.” He asked if farmers were from an enemy country that Internet had been blocked.

The Hindu

2021-02-05

NEW DELHI