Farmers Movement Archive

TMC team at stir site, Mamata Banerjee talks to farmers on phone

KOLKATA: Farmers on a relay hunger strike at the Singhu border near Delhi interacted with chief minister Mamata Banerjee over the telephone on Wednesday, with some urging her to visit their protest site to “give them strength”. The CM’s second interaction with farmers in three weeks came as a delegation of five Trinamool Congress MPs met agitating farmers and assured them of Banerjee’s and the party’s “complete support” till three controversial farm laws are repealed. “Please come and join our dharna, it will give us more strength,” a farmer said to the CM. “We know how you have spoken up for farmers in the past. We want your support till the farm laws are repealed,” said another over phone. “If you can come and be with us here, it will send a message to everybody,” yet another said. Banerjee said she had some commitments in Bengal and would speak to them on this after a week. She spoke to farmers several times in small groups, saying she, her party and Bengal were with them in their protest. Trinamool MPs Derek O’Brien, Satabdi Roy, Prasun Banerjee, Pratima Mondal and Md Nadimul Haque met the farmers to express their solidarity. The farmers shared with them their only demand — that the Centre must repeal the farm laws. Derek said: “From December 4, when I first interacted with them, and today, we noticed that the numbers of protesters are swelling and their resolve is stronger to get the laws repealed. The CM spoke to the farmers at length.” He added that “it is unfortunate that farmers, who feed the entire country, are being forced to go hungry”. The CM tweeted: “We’re constantly striving to guarantee the well-being of the farmer community and we stand by our farmer brothers and sisters in their agitation against the Centre’s anti-farm Bills.” She also greeted them on Kisan Diwas on Wednesday. Referring to the steps taken in Bengal, Banerjee said: “Through our novel Krishak Bandhu scheme, we provide cash assistance of Rs 5,000 per acre per year to farmers along with death benefit assistance of Rs 2 lakh. Nearly 73 lakh farmers and sharecroppers will be benefited under the scheme. To ensure they get fair price for their produce, we directly buy these from specially organised camps and pay them directly into their bank accounts at prices higher than MSP. We have also waived tax and mutation fees on agricultural land.”

The Times of India

2020-12-24

Kolkata