Farmers Movement Archive

BJP, AIADMK try to woo farmers in dist

Coimbatore: BJP and AIADMK leaders made an attempt to woo farmers in the district on Thursday.While the BJP held a discussion on the three new farm laws brought by the Union government to allay the farmers’ fears, local administration minister S P Velumani joined the farm workers in transplanting paddy saplings.“Amma’s (the late chief minister J Jayalalithaa) government has been taking a lot of effort to improve the livelihood of farmers and bring about the second green revolution,” the minister told reporters after transplanting saplings at Chadivayalpathi.He said the state government had been ensuring adequate supply of fertilisers and seeds for farmers for short-term cultivation. “We are also providing technological assistance to them for better yield and enabling mechanisation to address labour shortage.”The farmers wing of the Coimbatore south district BJP, meanwhile, organized the discussion at Pollachi that was attended by more than 300 farmers belonging to various farmers’ associations. The party’s TN farmers’ wing secretary G K Nagaraj and state vice-president G Kanagasabapathy explained about the three new farm laws and their highlights.Kanagasabapathy said the opposition parties’ allegations that the farmers’ laws facilitate corporates to control farmers and render them landless were baseless. “In fact, the laws protect farmers from the buyers.” Removal of commodities like onion from the Essential Commodities Act would help the farmers sell their produces as they like, he said.Kanagasabapathy said the minimum support price (MSP) would be intact and that the Union government has increased the MSP to 150% above the cost of production, which the farmers incur. The laws, he said, also facilitate the district collector to handle all disputes and complaints against buyers.The BJP leaders also clarified the doubts raised by the participants.

The Times of India

2020-10-09

Coimbatore