Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers in MP not fully aware of the pitfalls in agri reform laws, says Kamal Nath

BHOPAL: PCC chief Kamal Nath will start an awareness campaign on January 16 to caution farmers of Madhya Pradesh on the risks and threats they face due to the Centre’s agri reform laws. “Farmers of MP are not fully aware of the problems they will encounter due to the three laws passed by the Centre,” Nath told TOI on Thursday. Nath will address a ‘kisan sammelan’ (farmers’ convention) in his constituency of Chhindwara on January 16 to drive home his point. Thereafter, he will address another such convention in Morena on January 20. Finally, on January 23, he will march to the Raj Bhavan in Bhopal along with farmers. Meanwhile, state Congress is organising a week-long block-level protest against the farm laws, which began on Wednesday from Nasrullaganj and will end on January 14. Farmers supported by the Congress party will observe a two-hour ‘chakka jam’ throughout the state, blocking numerous thoroughfares and highways on January 15. “About 70% of the state’s economy is dependent on agriculture. From grocery shops in rural areas to schools and engineering colleges, everything is dependent on the purchasing power of the farmers. The markets at the block, tehsil and district-level depend heavily on the performance of the agricultural sector,” Nath said, speaking to the media at the PCC headquarters here. Nath claimed that the agri reforms laws enacted by the Centre are based on the beliefs of the Jana Sangh who always supported a privatised market economy and was opposed to socialism. “When public sector companies such as BHEL and HAL were started, the RSS and Jana Sangh criticised the move. They also opposed nationalisation of banks and acquisition of coal mines by the government,” the former chief minister said. Nath said the Narendra Modi government’s three laws will privatise the farm sector. “Traders no longer will be registered with the mandis. Mandis will only be reduced to a department and anyone with a PAN card can do business in agriculture. The Essential Commodities Act has been removed making way for hoarding,” he said. Nath said the laws will end the minimum support price (MSP) system. “Farmers can flourish only if they get fertilisers and seeds from the government through cooperatives. With the new laws, private companies will hold the key to fertilisers and seeds. They will give that only to farmers who agree to contract farming. Farmers will be forced to accept contract farming and be at the mercy of corporate houses. That is why these are black laws,” he said. Nath said that MP today produces more wheat than Punjab. In 2019-2020, Punjab produced 175 lakh tonnes of wheat while MP produced 196 lakh tonnes. “Our state will be the hardest hit if procurement of wheat is stopped under MSP,” he added.

The Times of India

2021-01-08

Bhopal