Farmers Movement Archive

Congress kicks off nation-wide campaign against farm bills, says govt misleading people

NEW DELHI: Congress on Thursday kicked off its nation-wide campaign against the farm bills passed by Parliament earlier this week and referred to them as “anti-farmer, unconstitutional and in violation of the federal structure”. Even as state units and the Indian Youth Congress kicked off street protests against the bills, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi alleged the Modi government and the prime minister himself were “misleading” people on the provisions of the bills, which he said would leave Indian farmers at the mercy of corporate players. “In India, the average size of farmholding is 2 acres, and they account for over 80% of the total farmers in the country. For the government to claim that farmers with such limited means will be able to bargain and negotiate with corporate players on an equal footing is ridiculous,” Singhvi said. Citing the example of Bihar, which abolished the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee Act in 2006, Singhvi said the result was significantly lesser government procurement of farm produce and also the winding up of mandis. Referring to the new farm bills as a “new zamindari system”, he added that the state of affairs in Bihar would now be replicated in the rest of India. Delhi Congress chief Anil Chaudhury echoed Singhvi’s sentiment and said the state unit would actively participate in the call for Bharat bandh on Friday. He also announced a series of online and street protests by DPCC starting on Friday, including a ‘Speak Up For Farmers” campaign on social media, leading up to an eight-day signature campaign and a Kisan Sammelan on October 10.

The Times of India

2020-09-25

India