Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers’ protest: India tries to dispel misgivings among British lawmakers

India on Tuesday sought to dispel misgivings among British lawmakers about the farmers’ protest and the government’s willingness to address all concerns, even as it contended that “vested interests” abroad were trying to fuel the agitation through misinformation.The Indian government’s views were reflected in an open letter issued by the Indian high commission in London to British MP Claudia Webbe, who has repeatedly raised the handling of the farmers’ protest by New Delhi in the UK Parliament and outside. Webbe is the MP from Leicester East, which has one of the largest percentages of people of Indian-origin.The Indian mission said the information about the farmers’ protest was being shared with Webbe to “dispel any misgivings with regard to the objectives of the reforms, the ability of those having reservations to protest peacefully and the willingness of the Government of India to address all concerns in a manner most acceptable to the protesting farmers’ unions”.Also Read | Delhi Police ask Zoom to share details of farm stir ‘toolkit’ meeting“The efforts continue - but Government of India is more than aware of efforts by vested interests abroad to fuel the protests through misinformation and incendiary assertions that are not helpful in progressing the dialogue between the protesters and Government or addressing the issues through the democratic processes that our people have traditionally relied on,” the open letter added.Webbe and Labour Party MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi have been at the forefront of UK MPs who have raised the farmers’ protest. Over the past two days, Webbe tweeted in support of the protesting farmers and Disha Ravi, the 21-year-old activist arrested over a toolkit used to organise the protests.The Indian mission’s letter said Webbe, as the representative of British citizens of Leicester East, including many connected to India through family and business ties, would have been “most welcome to convey any apprehensions of the community” that she represents to the high commission in London.“We would have been able to comprehensively and in detail provide clarifications to assuage the concerns of your constituents with regard to the recent path-breaking Indian farm laws, against which a small section of India’s farming community has been protesting,” the letter said, repeating the position taken by the external affairs ministry in response to the farmers’ protest being raised by other countries.The Indian mission said the reforms, “intended to protect and empower farmers in India”, were based on “inputs from experts and recommendations by committees that have analysed the specific challenges of the agricultural sector in India over the last 20 years”.Also Read | Deep Sidhu, accused in Republic Day violence, remanded to 7-day police custodyIt added that the farm laws were discussed and debated in Parliament and their “benefits have started reaching more than 100 million small farmers instantly”.“With the section of farmers having reservations, 11 rounds of talks have been held. Though Government of India has suggested numerous ways to address their apprehensions, including postponing implementation of the Acts or amendment of the same, these options have been summarily rejected by them,” the letter said.The Indian high commission also said the farmers participating in protests have been “treated with utmost respect and restraint by the government and security forces – more than may have been the case in similar situations elsewhere in the world”.The letter also provided a detailed brief on the three farm laws against which the farmers have been protesting since late November last year.It said that during the Covid-19 lockdown, there was an urgent need to “allow free direct marketing outside the mandis in order to not only facilitate the farmers in selling their produce near [the] farm gate at remunerative prices but also decongest the mandis”, and that the “demand suppression and logistics and supply chain breakdown only accentuated the need to liberalise the ecosystem”.In the face of pressure from British MPs, UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab had raised the farmers’ protest with his Indian counterpart during a visit to New Delhi in December.

Hindustan Times

16-02-2021

India