Farmers Movement Archive

Cong launches online campaign against farm bills

Jaipur: The Congress leaders on Saturday launched an online campaign — #SpeakUpForFarmers — deploring the three farm bills passed in Parliament. PCC president Govid Singh Dotasra and former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot described the legislation as ‘black laws’ passed in undemocratic way. The party campaign trended at the national level. The Modi government passed three anti-farmer bills. All three bills will weaken the farmer. These bills are a conspiracy to hand over the produce of the farmer to the big capitalists, said Dotasra. Accusing the central government of betraying farmers, Pilot on Saturday asked how will the Centre pacify farmers about the farm bills when it failed to convince its own minister. He demanded that the Centre withdraw the three bills in the interest of farmers. “The central government should admit its mistake and withdraw the bills. The way the bills were passed... pushed in the Rajya Sabha was undemocratic. Therefore, dissenting voices are emerging in the country today,” Pilot said in a video message. He said that a Union minister from NDA’s ally resigned from the Cabinet over the issue. He said that BJP’s promise to double the farmers’ income has been sidestepped and the farmers have been badly hit. The Congress leader said that the bills were introduced hurriedly, without consulting the states and farmers. “We all want investment and reforms, but these bills are anti-farmer and anti-national,” he said. Transport minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas said the leaders of the BJP are cheating the farmers by lying on the Kisan Bill.Khachariyawas alleged that BJP leaders are playing in the hands of industrialists. The whole country knows about demonetisation, privatisation of rail, GST, privatisation of airports and BSNL, crude oil despite being cheap in the international market, is the most expensive in the country. Mahendra Chaudhary, Congress deputy chief whip in the assembly, in a video alleged that, “BJP is anti-farmer party. The is Centre bent on ruining farmers.” He asked why not talk about MSP in law? It is part of a conspiracy to mortgage farmers’ land to the capitalists. The Modi government must withdraw all three bills immediately, he said. box Batting for the new reforms in the agriculture sector, union minister of state for agriculture Kailesh Choudhary on Saturday says that bills passed in both the houses of the parliament will bring a transformational change in the lives of the farmers. In a presser held at Jaipur, he says that farmers will get an option to sell their produce anywhere will give them the freedom from the Mandi system. “The farmers' community can now get the actual price of their produce. The buyers can give them the price according to the produce leaving no scope for the middlemen in the new system,” said Choudhary.

The Times of India

2020-09-27

Jaipur