Farmers Movement Archive

On PM Modi’s ‘insulting farmers’ remark over farm law protest, Kapil Sibal responds with ‘SAD dumped you’ jibe

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Opposition parties of insulting farmers through protests over farm laws, Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Friday took a jibe at him by talking about Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) quitting the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). “Even your oldest 24-year-old ally SAD has dumped you. Modiji is the SAD insulting farmers?” Sibal asked on Twitter.“Agitating farmers feel otherwise. You seem least concerned for their survival!” Sibal also said in reference to the PM’s “those opposing farm laws insulting farmers“ remarks.PM Modi launched six mega projects in Uttarakhand om Tuesday. During the event, PM Modi launched a sharp attack at the Opposition parties as he said that they are protesting “just for the sake of it.”The comments were related to the farmers’ protests led by Opposition parties across the country. On Monday, a group of Congress’s youth wing members set a tractor on fire at Delhi’s Rajpath in protest against the new farm laws.While commenting on the incident, PM Modi said these parties are “insulting the farmers.”“For years, they said that they will implement MSP (Minimum Support Price) but they never did. This was done by our government as per the recommendation of the Swaminathan Commission,” he said.“These reforms will strengthen labourers, youth, women, and farmers of the nation,” he also said.“Farmers can now sell their produce to anyone, anywhere. They do not want farmers to sell their produce in an open market, they want middlemen to earn the profit,” PM Modi also said, adding “They’re opposing the freedom of farmers”.Also read | ‘They are insulting farmers’: PM Modi on protesters burning tractors at India Gate over farm lawsFarmers from Punjab and Haryana are agitating against the farm reforms, passed in the Parliament in the recently concluded monsoon session. The three bills have now become law as President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent on Monday, despite opposition parties’ requests against signing.The parties have claimed that the bills were passed “unconstitutionally” in “complete disregard” of parliamentary norms and they are “anti-farmer”.The three bills are Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill 2020.

Hindustan Times

29-09-2020

India