Farmers Movement Archive

Congress to hold protest march against farm bills on Sept 28

PANAJI: The three agricultural bills pushed through Parliament will have an adverse impact on farmers as it will leave them vulnerable to market forces and large corporates, said the Congress party as it announced its plan to hold a protest march to Raj Bhavan on September 28. The Congress has started a nationwide protest with state level protests proposed till November demanding immediate withdrawal of the farm bills. State Congress president Girish Chodankar said that they would walk from Dona Paula circle to Raj Bhavan and submit a petition to Goa governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari. Newly appointed Goa desk in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao will join the march in Goa. “This government is against farmers and the Congress party will bring all the pressure required to force the government to revoke these bills,” said Chodankar. Parliament has passed the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020 and the Centre now awaits presidential assent for the Bills. Chodankar said that on September 26 a social media campaign in support of farmers will be organised while on October 2, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, the Congress will observe Kisan-Mazdoor Bachao Divas (Save Farmers and Farm Labourers Day). “The program will have block-level discussions across the state,” said Chodankar. On October 10, state-level conferences will be held and from October 2 to October 31, the party will collect signatures with the aim of garnering two crore signatures from across the country. The party’s state office bearers met on Wednesday to discuss the Bills and the strategy for the protests and demonstrations in Goa. “Private companies will enter this sector because of these Bills and farmers will not get the price that they deserve,” said opposition leader Digambar Kamat. “Big companies will take advantage of the poverty of farmers and soon the farmers will lose ownership of their land.” The party said it believes that the Centre also plans to dismantle the Food Corporation of India (FCI). “The prime minister says that there will be a minimum support price but the Bill does not mention this at all. Farmers will come victim to market forces and with no mandis to sell to, they will have to sell their produce at whatever prices the big companies offer,” said former union law minister Ramakant Khalap.

The Times of India

2020-09-25

Goa