Farmers Movement Archive

BJP to raise awareness among farmers in Bihar

PATNA: The state BJP will launch a 13-day campaign on Sunday to raise awareness among farmers on three farm laws brought out by the Centre. As part of the campaign, at least 99 rallies and conferences will be addressed by the Union and state ministers and other senior leaders of the party across the state. The three farm laws and matters related to minimum support price (MSP) have evoked protests by farmers from Punjab, Haryana and some other states. State BJP president Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal said the protests by farmers were misplaced as the laws were enacted to facilitate contract farming and related benefits for the farmers. He said middlemen engaged in the collection of agriculture produce from the farmers – for which they collect their own commissions and also Rs 6,000 worth of revenue by way of taxes for the Punjab government – were behind the agitation. “What has become a matter of serious concern is that extraneous demands have also been added to it even as they are in no way connected to the farmers,” Jaiswal said. As per the plan, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Jaiswal and state health minister Mangal Pandey would launch the mass awareness programme on Sunday. While Prasad and Jaiswal are scheduled to address a rally of farmers at Bakhtiarpur on Sunday, Pandey will address the farmers at Mohiuddinnagar assembly constituency the same day. Similar rallies are also scheduled to be held at Narpatganj, Raniganj and Bihpur. Jaiswal said the campaign would conclude on December 25 to mark the Good Governance Day held in the memory of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The Times of India

2020-12-13

Patna