Farmers Movement Archive

In UP, BJP plans outreach meet with farmers amid protests against agri laws

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh has decided to hold a series of meetings with farmers to counter opposition parties that have backed the ongoing farmers’ agitation against three contentious farm reform laws. Beginning with the ones in Ayodhya and Basti on Monday, the meets would be held till December 18. At these meetings, senior leaders and ministers will explain why the three contentious laws will eventually be beneficial for the farmers. Nearly all opposition parties in the state, including the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Congress and others, have extended their support to the ongoing farmers’ stir demanding the repeal of the legislations. The BJP government at the Centre has indicated that the laws won’t be withdrawn, though it is ready to introduce key amendments to address farmers’ concerns.Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and ministers as well as senior BJP leaders, including state chief Swatantra Dev and UP in-charge Radha Mohan Singh, who was the agriculture minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first government, would also address these farmers’ meetings, party leaders said. “On Monday, the UP BJP in-charge would launch these farmers’ meetings from Basti and Ayodhya,” said state general secretary Govind Narayan Shukla. While deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya would address a farmers’ meeting in Varanasi on Tuesday, ministers Mahendra Singh (Moradabad), Mukut Bihari Verma (Amethi) and Neelkanth Tiwari (Pratapgarh) would be in different parts of the state for the same reason. The UP BJP chief will address farmers’ rallies in Bareilly, Shahjahanpur and Badaun on Monday followed by a meeting in Gonda on Tuesday. “The opposition is misleading the people on the issue of farm laws. Such political parties, who cheated and exploited the farmers for decades, are now acting as the biggest well-wishers of theirs,” Swatantra Dev Singh said. He said the BJP would expose the opposition.

Hindustan Times

14-12-2020

India