Farmers Movement Archive

Congress, 15 other opposition parties to boycott President’s address

NEW DELHI: With the government seizing on the violence during the tractor rally to corner protesting farm unions, 16 opposition parties on Thursday announced a boycott of the President’s address to Parliament scheduled for Friday, and accused the Centre of “orchestrating” the mayhem in the Capital to discredit farmers. The opposition reiterated its demand for repeal of the three farm laws which it said were an encroachment on the states’ rights, were passed without scrutiny and were a threat to food security of the country and farming that sustains 60% of the population. Among the non-NDA parties, BJD said it would not be part of the boycott. The boycott declaration, signed by Congress and regional parties like DMK, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, Left parties, NCP, Shiv Sena, RJD, National Conference and PDP, covers a significant section of the opposition — a big show of solidarity with farmers who are facing police action and are seen as being on the defensive. With former BJP ally Akali Dal and AAP of Arvind Kejriwal separately announcing a boycott, the supposedly bipartisan customary practice during the first Parliament session every year in Central Hall may have BJP and regional parties like YSRCP, TRS, BJD, AIADMK and BSP in attendance. These parties have on occasion supported the government on bills and kept away from the UPA. The statement — signed by Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Mallikarjun Kharge, Jairam Ramesh, Sharad Pawar, Farooq Abdullah and T R Baalu among others — said lakhs of farmers had braved odds for over two months to protest peacefully at the Delhi borders, during which 155 farmers had lost their lives. Claiming that “government-sponsored disinformation campaign” tried its best to “discredit a legitimate mass movement”, the statement said, “The protest and the agitation have been largely peaceful. Unfortunately, there were a few acts of violence on January 26 which were condemned unequivocally. We also express our sadness over the injuries sustained by Delhi Police personnel while handling the difficult situation. But we believe that an impartial investigation will reveal the central government’s nefarious role in orchestrating those events.” The opposition said the controversial farm laws were an “assault on rights of the states” and “will effectively dismantle the edifice of national food security that rests upon MSP, government procurement and distribution system”. It said the bills were brought without consultations with states or farmers’ unions and passed without parliamentary scrutiny by muzzling the opposition. “The very constitutional validity of these laws remains in question,” it added. CPM chief Sitaram Yechury slammed the government for “orchestrating violence” to disrupt peaceful protests by farmers and alleged the government had used similar tactics during protests at JNU, at Jamia Milia University and Shaheen Bagh, during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Yechury said what happened in Delhi on January 26 was “straight out of the BJP playbook”. “That is distraction, destruction and disinformation. It is on the basis of this that they have orchestrated the violence. They now want to use this to distract people from the main issue,” he added. Yechury also said while lakhs of farmers were plying their tractors on pre-decided routes, only one splinter group “was allowed to deviate”. “How did they deviate without police connivance? How did they reach ITO? They were even allowed to reach the Red Fort and climb up to the ramparts. Anyone who is familiar with the security at Red Fort knows that it is impossible to reach the ramparts without the gates being opened. These gates are usually under lock and key. Who opened the gates and who allowed them to climb the ramparts? This smacks of very clear connivance,” Yechury said.

The Times of India

2021-01-29

India