Farmers Movement Archive

Centre has stabbed farmers in the back: Delhi CM Kejriwal hits out at farm laws

Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Monday joined a protest leaders of the party at Jantar Mantar against the Centre’s three new farm reform laws, which were passed in Parliament last month. The protest, organised by AAP’s Punjab unit, was attended by ministers from the Delhi cabinet, other AAP leaders from the national capital and members of the Delhi legislative assembly.Farmers in several states have protested against the laws, with the primary points of contention the absence of any mention of a minimum support price (the government-decided floor) and the freedom given to private players and others to operate in areas beyond the physical boundaries of Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs).Kejriwal said AAP is opposed to the laws, called for their abolition, and suggested that a law be introduced where MSP will be applicable to all farm produce.“Through these bills, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wants to take farming away from the farmers and give it to the corporates. The farmers of Punjab gave birth to the Green Revolution by working hard and made the country self-reliant in producing and providing grains,” Kejriwal said in his address to the farmers and AAP supporters from Punjab. “This is the season of harvesting and sowing the fields, and farmers should have been in their fields. But instead of being on your fields, you have to be here at Jantar Mantar to protest. This is a blot on the society,” he continued.He reminded the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government that the party had promised, before the parliamentary elections in 2014, that it would implement the Swaminathan Committee’s report.“The BJP had promised to implement the Swaminathan report, which talks about the cost of MSP crop being 1.5 times more. But after winning the election, BJP scrapped MSP altogether. Only 6% of the crop is procured at MSP across the country, whereas 100% of the crop should be procured at MSP, and the cost of selling should be 1.5 times the production cost. What has been done is the opposite of what ought to have been done, that too without asking the farmers. You left the farmers to die by deceiving them,” he said.“The Central government has backstabbed farmers,” he alleged.He also alleged some political parties of doublespeak. “I am sad to see that some parties are playing politics over the issue. They do something in the parliament, do something else behind closed doors, and then pretend to hold protests among the public. There is a national party in Punjab with a very celebrated leader. When the BJP formed a committee to draft this bill, the party leader was present in the committee, who drafted the clauses of the bill to be passed by the Centre. But now, they are playing games and doing tractor rallies. Another party leader was a part of the cabinet that approved the bill and congratulated the BJP for passing the bill. She sat in the Lok Sabha while the bill was being passed and then resigned after the bill was passed. Do they think people do not understand their intent and actions? Now they are taking out tractor rallies and holding dharnas, against a law that is being brought and passed by themselves,” said Kejriwal.Sunita Duggal, BJP MP from Haryana’s Sirsa constituency, accused AAP of spreading misinformation. “Purchase of crops will continue at the minimum support price (MSP). The Prime Minister has himself assured this MSP rates have increased significantly between 2014-2020. Complete security of farmers has been ensured in the farm bills. The role of middlemen is completely eliminated. The Modi government is committed to double farmer’s income,” she said.

Hindustan Times

13-10-2020

Delhi