Farmers Movement Archive

‘IMF supports laws, will protest against it’

Bathinda: Claiming that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was supporting the recent agriculture marketing laws in India, farm organisation BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) has announced to burn its effigies at Delhi border and across Punjab on January 19. The farm organisation has also accused the Narendra Modi government of “acting on the diktats of IMF, World Bank and multi-national companies to provide favour to corporates”. IMF communications director Gerry Rice had said on Friday that the farm laws brought by the Indian government had the potential to be a significant step forward for agricultural reforms. The farm organisation claimed it was the fallout of economic liberalisation started in 1991 and it was being taken forward by Modi government which was either locking up the public sector institutions in the country or handing these over to corporates as is seen the part of railways and airports going into private hands. BKU Ugrahan president Joginder Singh Ugrahan told TOI: “When a senior official of IMF completely supported the farm laws, we were not surprised at all as we knew that sooner or later it would happen. Narendra Modi is working as per the wishes and fancies of the such agencies, like the World Trade Organisation and IMF. This government is taking directions from such institutions for the benefit of chosen corporate houses and it not ready to listen to the screaming voices of millions farmers. We have decided to burn effigies of IMF on January 19, the day the central government has fixed the 10th round of talks with farm groups.” “A day prior to that, we will protest at the native villages of BJP leaders Surjit Kumar Jayani and Harjit Singh Grewal, where women will take the centrestage,” he added.

The Times of India

2021-01-17

Chandigarh