Farmers Movement Archive

Protests against farm Bills in Rajasthan

All the 247 Krishi Upaj Mandis in Rajasthan remained closed on Monday in protest against the contentious farm Bills passed in Parliament, while workers of the ruling Congress staged demonstrations and submitted memorandums to the District Collectors. The farmers’ outfits have extended support to a call for ‘Bharat bandh’ on September 25 on the issue. A delegation led by Pradesh Congress Committee president Govind Singh Dotasra submitted a memorandum addressed to Governor Kalraj Mishra in Jaipur. Mr. Dotasra said the farmers would become labourers with the passage of the Bills and big companies would take over their land and agricultural produce. Revenue Minister Harish Chaudhary and Transport Minister Pratap Singh Khachariawas, who accompanied Mr. Dotasra, said the “anti-farmer Bills” had been brought in a hurry, while the farmers had been deprived of the bonus on minimum support prices. “The passage of the Bills during the pandemic shows that the Modi government is not concerned about the deaths due to virus infection,” Mr. Khachariawas said. While the closure of mandis affected business worth Rs. 600 crore as well as the work of about 5 lakh labourers, the farmer leaders said the ‘Bharat bandh’ would be observed across the State on September 25. The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) staged ‘paraav’ (stay) outside the Collectorate in Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh to highlight the provisions of the Bills which would affect the farmers. ‘Bid to destroy farmers’ AIKS vice-president and former CPI(M) MLA Amra Ram said the BJP government at the Centre, which was serving the interests of big corporate houses, wanted to destroy farmers, agricultural labourers, small shopkeepers and the rural population. “The Bills amount to an attack on India's federal structure... No State Assembly debated the issue and no farmers were consulted.”

The Hindu

2020-09-22

JAIPUR