Farmers Movement Archive

BJP ‘educates’ farmers on new laws

Tribune News ServicePathankot, October 4After days of remaining in a state of inertia, during which it faced flak from the Congress, SAD and AAP, the BJP is back in the thick of action as it organised a tractor-trailer rally here on Sunday, in which it “informed agriculturists about advantages of the farm Acts.”The rally, comprising 550 tractor-trailers and nearly 3,500 farmers, commenced from Sujanpur, passed through Pathankot and culminated in Bhoa, covering a distance of 35 km. Reports culled from intelligence sources revealed a majority of tractor-trailers had come from Sujanpur, the seat represented by Dinesh Singh Babbu, a three-time BJP MLA and former Punjab Deputy Speaker.Sujanpur is predominantly a rural area where the prime occupation of the people is farming. State BJP chief Ashwani Sharma and Babbu were the main architects of the event. Former Cabinet Minister Master Mohan Lal and ex-Bhoa legislator Seema Devi, too, took part.“In view the misinformation being spread by parties opposing the laws, including our former ally SAD, we decided to reach out to the farming community to present the true picture. A controversy is deliberately being created where none exists. Starting from Sujanpur, till we reached Bhoa, we made it a point to clarify that the MSP system will not be impacted. The MSP was there in the past, is there at present and will remain in the future, too. Under no circumstances will it be disbanded as is being alleged by parties with vested interests,” said Babbu.Babbu added that while other parties were holding “protest rallies”, the BJP had come up with a strategy to counter the opposition by holding an “awareness rally”, wherein it was putting across proper facts related to the farm laws.Sources claimed the rally was organised on directions of the national BJP functionaries. “This was our way to contain the damage done by the Opposition and we have been successful in our endeavour,” said Babbu.Ashwani Sharma said a lot of effort and time had gone into making the programme a success “Rahul Gandhi is in Punjab today (on Sunday) and we wanted to tell him to not misguide the gullible farming community. The laws are a boon to agriculturists and have been drafted after consulting all stakeholders,” he said.He said the BJP had made elaborate plans to reach out to farmers across the state. “The plans are ready and upon approval from New Delhi, we will take the party’s message to all parts of the state,” he said.

The Tribune

2020-10-05