Farmers Movement Archive

Engaging stakeholders in farm reforms only way forward: Panelists

Tribune News ServiceChandigarh, December 20Keeping the three farms laws, which have earned the angst of farmers, in abeyance for six months and inviting all stakeholders, including corporates, on board should be the way forward in ending the ongoing agitation.Speaking on ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’ during the Military Literature Festival here today, Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Badal and former beauty queen Gul Panag applauded the contribution of the northern region in taking India from a grain-deficient to grain-sufficient country, while also sending its sons into the armed forces. “It is a matter of honour for our farmers to send their children into the armed forces to fight for our motherland and to guard her honour. Similarly, the agitation is about saving their land,” Manpreet stated.Maintaining that the farm laws were the outcome of the FCI being under heavy debt, Manpreet narrated stories to underline the grit and valour of the Punjabis under adversities and their ability to come right out on top.Panag, who comes from an Army background and has been to the Singhu border to express solidarity with the farmers, said farmers feel short-shifted and there exists a huge trust deficit given the way the farm Bills were brought in and rushed through in Parliament.The moderator, Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari, urged farmers to widen their base by allowing like-minded people to join them in building pressure on the government.

The Tribune

2020-12-21