Farmers Movement Archive

Agitating farmers should end protest, says Athawale

Varanasi: Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment, Ramdas Athawale, said that “after the historical decision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to repeal three farm laws, agitating farmers’ groups should express their gratitude to the PM and end their stir”. “Though the agitating farmers’ groups have no support of all sections of the farmers across the country, they are deliberately continuing their agitation with new demands instead of going back to their homes,” said Athawale while talking to reporters here on Monday. He said that the protesting farmers can hold dialogue with the government regarding their other demands, including guarantee being sought on minimum support price (MSP). On his Republican Party of India’s (RPI) prospects in the 2022 UP election, Athawale said, “The alliance with RPI is beneficial for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). My party is preparing a list of 25-30 assembly areas where we are strong in UP.” “I have already met BJP chief JP Naddda, Union home minister Amit Shah and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath and expect that RPI would be given a minimum 10 seats to contest in UP,” he added. Claiming that there was anger among Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supporters against party supremo Mayawati, Athawale said, “The opposition is misleading people by claiming that the BJP will change the Constitution to abolish quota for Dalits.” He said that the rights of Dalits are secure in the BJP rule. “Before making false claims, the BSP chief should make it clear that if BJP had a plan to change the Constitution, then why did she enjoy its support for becoming CM of UP in the past,” he added.

The Times of India

2021-11-23

Varanasi