Farmers Movement Archive

Bengal BJP’s top guns counter TMC’s offensive on farms bills

A day after the ruling Trinamool Congress’ farmers’ wing hit the streets in protest against the contentious farm bills, Bharatiya Janata Party’s top guns in West Bengal launched a counter offensive against the TMC with a series of public meetings on Saturday. On Friday, members of the Kisaan Khet Mazdoor, affiliated to the TMC, took out protest rallies across the state. A sit-in demonstration was also held in central Kolkata. The Left Front and Congress also took out a joint rally. On Saturday, some senior leaders of the BJP’s Bengal unit including Mukul Roy, national executive member, Sayantan Basu, state general secretary, Locket Chatterjee, BJP MP and Biswapriyo Roy Chowdhury, state vice president among others, held meetings in the districts to clarify on the alleged misgivings on the three farm bills passed by Parliament. “The TMC is spreading all lies. The bills will allow the farmers to sell their products wherever they want and to any person they wish. The TMC, however, doesn’t want this. This is because TMC backed middlemen buy the products from farmers and sell them at exorbitant rates in the cities. The farmers get nothing,” said Sayantan Basu, who held a meeting at Siliguri in north Bengal. West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) helmswoman Mamata Banerjee had earlier condemned the bills and said that the bills would lead to an epidemic comparable to the Bengal famine of 1943 which claimed more than two million lives. Also Read: Dropped in reshuffle, Bengal BJP leader Rahul Sinha says defectors from TMC favouredThe three bills passed by Parliament are the Farmer’s Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020. The Centre has asserted that the proposed laws will be beneficial for farmers and increase their income. The Left Front and the Congress had earlier sent a letter to Mamata Banerjee urging her to convene a special session of the state assembly soon to discuss the “anti-worker and anti- farmer” bills. The BJP meanwhile has launched a massive campaign on the social networking and micro-blogging sites to spread awareness on the bills and bust the alleged propaganda of the ruling TMC.

Hindustan Times

27-09-2020

Kolkata