Tag: Agri Laws

  • Wise course is to keep unpopular farm laws in abeyance: P Chidambaram

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Friday said he was saddened that the government “refuses to relent” on the farmers’ demands and asked whether its meetings with the protesters are aimed at tiring them out.

    He also stressed that the farm laws be kept in abeyance and a fresh start be made by talking to all stakeholders.

    “Saddened that the government remains as adamant as ever and refuses to relent. The wise course is to keep the unpopular farm laws in abeyance and start talking to all stakeholders on a clean slate,” he said on Twitter.

    ALSO READ: After Singhu, AAP starts installing Wi-Fi hotspots at Tikri border for protesting farmers

    The former finance minister said any legal reform of agricultural produce marketing must be based on the widespread consultation and not through “midnight ordinances”.

    “If the government has nothing to offer, why has it asked for another meeting with the farmers’ organisations? Is it a tactic to tire the protesters by asking them to remain in the bitter cold for another week,” he asked.

    “Our thoughts and prayers are with the farmers protesting at Singhur on the border of Delhi,” he also said.

    ALSO READ: Agri laws: Wisconsin Speaker supports farmers’ protests; writes to Indian, US envoys

    Farmers are protesting at Delhi borders for over a month now, demanding a repeal of the farm laws and over 60 of them have died during the protest.

    The government’s negotiations with farm unions to end the agitation appeared heading nowhere at the eighth round of talks on Friday as the Centre ruled out repealing the three contentious laws claiming nationwide support for reforms while the farmer leaders said they are ready to fight till death and their ‘ghar waapsi’ will happen only after ‘law waapsi’.

    ALSO READ: SC to hear pleas against new agri laws, all issues related to farmers protest on January 11

    The next meeting has been fixed for January 15, amid indications that any headway will now depend on a Supreme Court hearing scheduled for January 11 on a batch of petitions related to the protest.

  • After Singhu, AAP starts installing Wi-Fi hotspots at Tikri border for protesting farmers

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: After Singhu border, the AAP has now started installing Wi-Fi hotspots at Tikri border for protesting farmers, party leader Raghav Chadha said on Friday.

    The AAP said Wi-Fi connections would help the protesting farmers to keep in touch with their families.

    ALSO READ: Agri laws: Wisconsin Speaker supports farmers’ protests; writes to Indian, US envoys

    The AAP has strongly come out in favour of the farmers protesting against the new agri laws and its national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has visited the Singhu border twice and expressed his support to the farmers.

    “After Singhu Border, Sewadaar @ArvindKejriwal’s WiFi sewa reaches Tikri Border. Free WiFi Hotspot installation in full swing at Tikri,” Chadha tweeted.

    ALSO READ: SC to hear pleas against new agri laws, all issues related to farmers protest on January 11

    The installation of Wi-Fi hotspots started at Singhu border where Chadha himself went to oversee the process.

    Chadha had said as and when demands come, they would install more such hotspots at other border points too where the farmers are protesting against the Centre’s three farm laws.

  • Had asked police to give me intelligence updates on farmers protest: Punjab CM Amarinder Singh

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday said he had ‘naturally asked’ police to give him regular intelligence updates related to the farmers’ protest in the national capital.

    He said this while rejecting the Opposition claim that he deputed police officers to ‘negotiate’ with farmers protesting against the Centre’s farm laws at Delhi’s borders.

    Dubbing the accusations as ‘completely baseless and malicious’, the CM in a statement said there was no question of deputing police officers to negotiate with farmers.

    ALSO READ: Government-farmers meet – Unions say ready to fight till death; All eyes on Supreme Court hearing

    The CM said he had made it categorically clear that the ball was in the Centre’s court, with the Punjab government having no role to play in the negotiations.

    With farmer protests going on in his state since long before the agitation started at the Delhi border, he had ‘naturally asked’ police officers to give him regular intelligence reports and updates on the situation not just from the national capital but also across Punjab, said Amarinder Singh.

    He trashed the ‘twisted and senseless’ interpretation being given to the presence of a few Punjab Police personnel at the farmers’ protest site.

    ALSO READ: Repeal farm laws, we’ll return home: Farmer leaders tell Govt; agri Minister says keep national interest in mind

    It is the job of the state police to keep tabs on the evolving situation and it is his job as both chief minister and home minister to remain updated about all developments, he added.

    “Anyone who believes that a couple of police officers can negotiate with farmers or persuade the kisan leaders to accept the Centre’s suggestions on amendments to the farm laws is really naive,” the CM said.

    The Aam Aadmi Party while citing some media reports on Thursday had alleged that the CM had assigned two Punjab IPS officers at the Singhu border to engage with the farmer leaders to persuade them to accept the Centre’s offer.

    ALSO READ: Farmers’ stir – Rahul Gandhi appeals to people to join ‘Kisaan ke Liye Bole Bharat’ campaign

    The CM said both SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, as well as their party colleagues, were resorting to ‘lies and deceit in their desperation to cover up their own failures’ in the entire crisis triggered by the farm laws.

    Pointing to Sukhbir’s claim that the resolutions passed in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha against the three farm bills had not been sent to the governor, he said the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president had clearly lost it.

    “Or perhaps he is suffering from serious amnesia since his party colleagues, including his own brother-in-law Bikram Majithia, had accompanied me to the governor’s house for submitting the resolution and the three state amendment Bills,” said the chief minister, advising Badal to seek medical help.

  • Government-farmers meet: Unions say ready to fight till death; All eyes on Supreme Court hearing

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The government’s negotiations with farm unions to end over-a-month-long agitation appeared heading nowhere at the eighth round of talks on Friday as the Centre ruled out repealing the three contentious laws claiming nationwide support for reforms while the farmer leaders said they are ready to fight till death and their ‘ghar waapsi’ will happen only after ‘law waapsi’.

    The next meeting has been fixed for January 15, amid indications that any headway will now depend on a Supreme Court hearing scheduled for January 11 on a batch of petitions related to the protest.

    The farmer groups have also decided to meet on January 11 to decide their next course of action, even as many leaders said they have lost hope now that any resolution could be reached even in the next round of negotiations.

    The meeting at Vigyan Bhawan in the heart of the national capital lasted for little over two hours, during which just about one hour of discussions took place, after which union leaders went on a maun vrat (vow of silence) holding placards with ‘Jeetenge Ya Marenge’ (We will win or die) and did not take a lunch break, while the three union ministers left the room for their own internal consultations.

    ALSO READ: Repeal farm laws, we’ll return home: Farmer leaders tell Govt; agri Minister says keep national interest in mind

    Briefing the media after the talks, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said no decision could be reached as the farmer leaders did not present alternatives to their demand for the repeal of the laws.

    He hoped that the unions will come up with alternatives in the next meeting for the consideration of the government.

    Union leaders, however, insisted they do not want anything less than the repeal of the laws and they are ready to fight till death.

    They also threatened that they are prepared to celebrate Lohri and Baisakhi festivals at their protest sites.

    The two harvest-related festivals, one on January 13 and the other on April 13, are celebrated with much fanfare by the farming community in northern India.

    ALSO READ: Farmers’ stir – Rahul Gandhi appeals to people to join ‘Kisaan ke Liye Bole Bharat’ campaign

    The union leaders also said the farmers, thousands of whom are staying put at Delhi borders despite extremely cold weather and heavy rains, will continue with their plan to hold a tractor rally on Republic Day on January 26.

    Farmer representatives said the discussions between the two sides were not entirely cordial this time and the pitch was high at times, while emotions ran high outside the venue also.

    Woman farmer leader Ravinder Kaur of Jai Kisan Andolan, crying profusely, said many mothers have lost their sons and many daughters have lost their fathers but the government was not ready to budge.

    “The government is testing our strength, but we will not bow down. It seems we will have to spend Lohri and Baisakhi festivals here at protest sides,” farmer leader Joginder Singh Ugrahan said, adding that it was unlikely that any resolution can happen in the next round of talks as well.

    Another union leader Hannan Mollah said farmers are ready to fight the government till death, but going to court was not an option.

    ALSO READ: ‘New laws hurt farmers’ – Governor reads Kerala’s resolution against Centres’ agri policies in assembly

    Several leaders said the government suggested at one point that why farmer groups do not become a party in the ongoing case in the Supreme Court.

    Tomar, however, said the government did not suggest anything of that sort, though the issue came up because the apex court is already scheduled to hear related matters on January 11.

    “We are a democracy and when laws are passed in Parliament, the Supreme Court has the authority to analyse them. Everyone, including the government, is obviously committed to the apex court and its decisions. The government is always committed to any direction given by the Supreme Court,” he said.

    Sources said the next date has been decided after keeping in mind the January 11 hearing as the government feels the apex court may look into the legality of the three laws, besides other issues related to farmers’ protests.

    During the meeting, prominent farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal had said several Supreme Court orders in the past have declared agriculture a state subject but unions are not keen to take the legal route in the current scenario.

    ALSO READ: Agri laws – Wisconsin Speaker supports farmers’ protests; writes to Indian, US envoys

    “Ideally, the Centre should not interfere in agriculture matters as various Supreme Court orders have declared farming a state subject. It seems you (the government) do not want to resolve the issue as talks have been happening for so many days. In that case, please give us a clear answer and we will go. Why to waste everyone’s time,” he said.

    Another leader said at the meeting, “Our ‘ghar wapsi’ (return to home) can happen only if you do ‘law wapsi’ (repeal of laws).”

    All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) member Kavitha Kuruganti, who was also present in the meeting, said the government told unions that it can not and will not repeal these laws.

    Later, Rajewal told PTI that the government suggested to the unions that why don’t they become a party in the ongoing case on three farm laws in the Supreme Court.

    “We rejected their suggestion outrightly and said the farmers’ unions didn’t and won’t approach the court. Our sole mission is to get these laws repealed and our agitation will continue till that happens,” he said.

    ALSO READ: SC to hear pleas against new agri laws, all issues related to farmers protest on January 11

    Asked whether there was any progress in talks beyond 50 per cent, Tomar said: “It is stuck at 50 per cent as of now.”

    In the sixth round of talks held on December 30 last year, some common ground was reached on two demands — decriminalisation of stubble-burning and continuation of power subsidies — after which Tomar had said that 50 per cent resolution has been reached as two out of four issues got settled.

    But the seventh round of talks on January 4 again ended inconclusively as the unions stuck to their demand for a complete repeal of three farm laws, while the government wanted to discuss only “problematic” clauses or other alternatives to end the stalemate.

    The government has presented these laws, enacted in September last year, as major agri-market reforms aimed at improving farmers’ income and their lives, but unions have billed them as pro-corporate and against the existing mandi and MSP procurement systems.

    Asked if the government is open to giving an option to states for implementing the laws, Tomar said, “Farmers have not given any such proposal. But, the government has time and again said it will consider all alternative proposals.”

    ALSO READ: Undeterred by cold weather, rains, protesting farmers warn to intensify stir further

    On whether the government is giving such a proposal to unions, the minister said it should come from farmer groups.

    “Any proposal from me or you do not matter,” Tomar told reporters.

    Asked if the government thinks religious leaders like Baba Lakha Singh can mediate with farmers to resolve the issue, Tomar said: “We have not approached anyone directly…Baba Lakha Singhji, a Sikh religious leader, came to meet me as he is pained about farmers protesting in cold weather and he wished for an early resolution.”

    “He presented farmers’ issue before me and I told him about the government’s legal stand…I urged him to talk to farmer leaders,” Tomar said.

    The minister said the farmers can give their proposals to the government directly or through Baba Lakha Singh.

    “We have respect for farmers and for religious leaders. Talks with Baba Lakha Singh happened in a cordial atmosphere. I am hopeful that he must have talked to the people concerned,” he added.

    The minister, who was accompanied by Food, Commerce and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash during the talks, said the protesting farmers want the repeal of the laws, but there are many farmers across the country who support these legislations.

    The minister said the government is respectfully holding talks with those opposing the laws and is also meeting those who are supporting the reforms.

    Asked if the government will invite farm groups supporting the laws in the ninth round of talks, Tomar said there was no such plan as of now but it can be looked into in the future if required.

    On whether the government was ready to set up an informal group to create convergence, Tomar did not give a direct reply and said the discussion on many issues take place during meetings.

    At the outset, Tomar appealed to unions for discussions on the laws while keeping in mind the interest of farmers of the entire country, but farm leaders reiterated their demand that the new Acts must be withdrawn.

    Before the start of the meeting, Tomar had also met senior BJP leader and Home Minister Amit Shah for about an hour.

    Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar also met Shah separately.

    Later talking to reporters, Khattar said a solution will definitely be reached through mutual dialogue.

  • Government ready to consider any proposal apart form repeal of three farm laws: Narendra Singh Tomar

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: A day before the crucial talks between the Centre and the protesting farmer unions, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Thursday said the government is ready to consider any proposal other than repeal of three farm laws, the key demand of the farmers.

    Tomar — who is leading the negotiations along with Food Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Commerce Som Parkash — said he cannot say right now what would be the outcome of the January 8 meeting with 40 protesting farmer union leaders, to be held at Vighyan Bhavan at 2 PM.

    The minister also denied giving any proposal to Punjab’s Nanaksar Gurudwara head Baba Lakha, a renowned religious leader of the state, for ending the stalemate.

    ALSO READ: Agri laws: Wisconsin Speaker supports farmers’ protests; writes to Indian, US envoys

    “I cannot say anything right now. In fact, it depends on what issues that will come up for discussion in the meeting,” Tomar told reporters when asked about the likely outcome of the January 8 meeting.

    Ahead of the talks with the government, thousands of farmers on Thursday took out tractor marches from protest sites of Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur borders and Haryana’s Rewasan against the three agriculture laws amid heavy police deployment.

    According to the protesting farmer unions, this is just a “rehearsal” for their proposed January 26 tractor parade that will move into the national capital from different parts of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

    ALSO READ: SC to hear pleas against new agri laws, all issues related to farmers protest on January 11

    The last seven rounds of talks between the Centre and the 40 protesting farmers’ leaders have remained inconclusive, although there was some breakthrough in the December 30 meeting when the government conceded to two demands of the agitating farmers pertaining to power subsidy and stubble burning.

    Asked if the government discussed a proposal with the Nanaksar Gurudwara head, the minister said, “The government has not given any proposal. The government has said that it will consider any proposal other than repeal (of the laws).”

    Asked if the proposals included giving the state governments freedom to implement the new central laws, he said, “No.”

    ALSO READ: Undeterred by cold weather, rains, protesting farmers warn to intensify stir further

    “I keep talking to him (Baba Lakha). He came to Delhi today, it became news. I have old association with him,” the minister said.

    When asked if he would meet other religious leaders from Punjab who can mediate between the government and the protesting farmers to end the stalemate, Tomar said, “Whosoever will request for a meeting, I will meet them — be it farmers or leaders.”

    Separately, Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Chaudhary said the new farm laws give freedom to farmers and the government is hopeful of ending the current logjam at the earliest.

    ALSO EDITORIAL: Help farmers build viable cooperatives

    “The reforms (measures) taken now are just the beginning. More reforms are to be taken. Next, the pesticides bill and seed bill will come…,” he noted.

    The protesting farmers, especially from Punjab, Haryana and parts of Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at various borders of the national capital for over a month now seeking repeal of the three farm laws and legal backing of minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

  • Thursday’s event a rehearsal for January 26 tractor parade: Farmer leader

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: With thousands of tractors bedecked with tricolours and farmer outfits’ flag of myriad colours swamping the KMP Expressway on the outskirts of Delhi on Thursday, a prominent key leader dubbed the rally as a “rehearsal for the January 26 tractor parade”.

    “It was a rehearsal for the proposed January 26 tractor parade,” Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) leader Shingara Singh Mann told PTI over the phone.

    He said farmers started their march from the Singhu and Tikri borders and drove towards the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal expressway in the morning and then they came back later.

    ALSO READ: Undeterred by cold weather, rains, protesting farmers warn to intensify stir further

    “The rally was peaceful and was a complete success,” he added.

    As farmers, especially youths owing allegiance to various farm bodies took part in a march, their tractors sported tricolour, flags of various farmers’ unions and banners mentioning ‘No Farmer No Food’.

    Farmers also shouted slogans against the Centre for not acceding to their demands.

    “We also want to give a message to the Centre through this rally that we will not return till it accepts our demands,” said a protesting farmer, adding it also shows farmers’ resolve for their fight against the farm legislations.

    ALSO READ: SC to hear pleas against new agri laws, all issues related to farmers protest on January 11

    Balraj Kundu, independent MLA from Meham in Haryana’s Rohtak district also participated in a tractor march at the KMP expressway.

    “If the government continues to remain adamant, farmers will take out a tractor parade in Delhi on January 26,” said Kundu while talking to reporters in Rohtak.

    Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher slammed the BJP-led government for not accepting their demands.

    ALSO READ: Agri laws: Wisconsin Speaker supports farmers’ protests; writes to Indian, US envoys

    He also accused the government of adopting “double standards” on this issue.

    “On one hand, the government is holding talks with farmer leaders and on the other, its ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Piyush Goyal are saying these farm laws are in he interest of farmers,” said Pandher.

    Thousands of farmers, mostly from Haryana, Punjab and western Uttar Pradesh have been camping at three Delhi border points — Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur for more than a month, demanding a repeal of the three farm laws and a legal guarantee for the minimum support price for their crops.

    ALSO EDITORIAL: Help farmers build viable cooperatives

    Meanwhile, the adequate security personnel were deployed by the Haryana police at KMP toll plaza in the wake of a tractor march.

  • Narendra Modi government has lost trust of entire farming community: Harsimrat Kaur Badal

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: A day before the government’s eighth round of talks with protesting farm unions, SAD leader and former Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said the Centre has lost the trust of the entire farming community and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should directly talk to agitating farmers.

    Expressing her anguish over the pain of farmers, Badal, leader of the ruling BJP’s erstwhile ally, said, “It is strange that farmers are spending nights in open during the chilling winters and even then their demands are falling on deaf ears.”

    In an interview to PTI, Badal who resigned from Union Cabinet in September last year when the three farm bills were being passed in Lok Sabha, said what farmers have gone through in last six-seven weeks, is the same what she went through when she was a Union Minister.

    ALSO READ: Agri laws: Wisconsin Speaker supports farmers’ protests; writes to Indian, US envoys

    “…To avoid the situation which has arisen now and the protest, I kept pleading for months, whether it was in cabinet meetings or in direct meetings with top leaders of the central government that please listen to farmers before bringing these three bills as they are ‘annadaatas’ of the country, otherwise it would lead to agitations and protests. But my all pleas fell on to deaf ears,” she said.

    Asking who will be held responsible for deaths of farmers during the protest, Badal said the Centre has lost the trust of farmers across the country.

    “Farmers are dying at the doorstep of the central government while protesting for their demands. Who will be responsible for deaths of ‘annadaatas’ of the country?” Badal said.

    ALSO READ: SC to hear pleas against new agri laws, all issues related to farmers protest on January 11

    Talking about the ongoing meetings between protesting farmers and Centre, Badal said after seven rounds of meetings nothing concrete has come out.

    “After several rounds of meetings if ministers are unable to resolve the farmers’ issues then Prime Minister Narendra Modi should directly talk to protesting farmers,” Badal said.

    She also attacked the Congress-led Punjab government and state chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh and said he has failed to fulfill his responsibility as guardian of the state and its people.

    ALSO READ: Undeterred by cold weather, rains, protesting farmers warn to intensify stir further

    “Both the central and state governments are equal partners in this crime against farmers. While farmers were sitting on dharna, the Chief Minister of Punjab was having fun in his farmhouse. Captain Amarinder Singh has miserably failed to fulfil his responsibilities as chief minister of Punjab and as guardian of its people,” Badal said.

    Harsimrat Kaur Badal was Union Food Processing Minister in the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre and resigned when the bills were taken up for passage in Lok Sabha.

    Her husband and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal had announced her resignation in the lower house while participating in the debate on the three farm bills.

    Days later, SAD also moved out of the ruling NDA breaking its decades-old alliance with the BJP.

  • AAP accuses Punjab CM Amarinder Singh of implementing farm laws, demands his resignation

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Alleging that the Congress government in Punjab has implemented the contentious farm laws in the state, the Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday demanded resignation of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh for “overt and open betrayal of the farmers”.

    Citing news reports about Punjab’s Minister of Food and Civil Supplies Bharat Bhushan Ashu’s comment that the Congress government has allowed farmers from elsewhere to sell their produce in the state, AAP’s Punjab co-incharge Raghav Chadha accused Singh of “lying to everyone”.

    “It is indeed sad to note that this year has begun on such a grim note with the biggest fraud and betrayal committed by the Congress and Amarinder Singh who have implemented the black farm laws in Punjab. The Aam Aadmi Party demands his resignation,” Chadha said.

    ALSO READ: Agri laws: Wisconsin Speaker supports farmers’ protests; writes to Indian, US envoys

    “With the backdoor implementation of the three black farm laws, Amarinder Singh has lied to everyone, he has betrayed not only the farmers of Punjab, but the fields of Punjab, the land of Punjab and the ‘annadaatas’ (food providers) of Punjab,” he said.

    Farmers from various parts of the country, mostly from Punjab, have been camping at different border points of Delhi for over a month now demanding repeal of the three agri laws, which were voted through in Parliament in September amid strong protests by opposition parties.

    ALSO READ: SC to hear pleas against new agri laws, all issues related to farmers protest on January 11

    Aam Aadmi Party have come out strongly in support of the protesting farmers.

    The three laws have been projected by the central government as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell anywhere in the country.

    However, the protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of Minimum Support Price and do away with the mandi system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.

    ALSO READ: Undeterred by cold weather, rains, protesting farmers warn to intensify stir further

    The government has repeatedly asserted that the MSP and Mandi systems will stay and has accused the opposition of misleading the farmers.

  • Supreme Court seeks response of Centre on PIL against three farm laws

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Wednesday sought response of the Centre on a PIL challenging the constitutional validity of newly enacted three farm laws on grounds including that Parliament lacked power to make legislations on the subject.

    The plea also raised questions over the validity of ‘the Constitution (3rd Amendment Act) of 1954′ which allegedly empowered the Centre to frame the controversial laws on agriculture.

    A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde, while issuing notice to the Ministry of Law and Justice on the PIL of lawyer M L Sharma, said it would hear on January 11 all the pleas challenging the new farm laws as also the ones raising issues related to the ongoing farmers’ protest at Delhi borders.

    ALSO READ: Agri laws: Wisconsin Speaker supports farmers’ protests; writes to Indian, US envoys

    In a hearing conducted through video conferencing, the bench, also comprising Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, took note of the petition which also contended that the subject ‘agriculture’ has wrongly been put in the concurrent list in the Constitution by parliament in 1954.

    The bench also allowed the lawyer to amend his PIL in which he has also sought quashing of the three laws.

    ALSO READ: SC to hear pleas against new agri laws, all issues related to farmers protest on January 11

    Earlier on November 19, the bench had restored the PIL of Sharma which was dismissed on October 12 and he was asked to approach the High Court instead.

    The top court has already decided to hear pleas of RJD lawmaker from Rajya Sabha, Manoj Jha and DMK Rajya Sabha MP from Tamil Nadu, Tiruchi Siva, and one by Rakesh Vaishnav of Chhattisgarh Kisan Congress against the three laws — Farmers” (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; Farmers” Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020.

  • People have rejected opposition’s ‘lies and hypocrisy’: BJP

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The BJP said on Wednesday that people have rejected the opposition’s politics of “lies and hypocrisy”, as it cited the recent Karnataka gram panchayat poll results to assert that voters have put their faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s development agenda.

      Addressing a press conference here, BJP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Chandrasekhar alleged that opposition parties have been trying to incite groups of citizens as he referred to farmers’ protest against three agri laws and also the earlier agitation against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

    Noting that he is speaking in the context of a string of elections in the southern state, he said the BJP has been winning them, be it assembly bypolls or MLC elections or the recent rural body polls.

      This “overwhelming” mandate in favour of the BJP against some opposition parties’ politics of “lies and hypocrisy” shows people’s trust in the leadership of Modi and Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, he said.

      People have backed the measures taken by the central government for the agriculture sector, he claimed.

      The BJP leader added the government is sincere in its talks with farmer unions to end their protests and said commitment to farmers is an “article of faith” for the party.

      Over 55.4 per cent gram panchayats in the state are BJP-supported and 53 per cent members are BJP supporters, he claimed.

      This result has come against the backdrop of opposition parties’ “falsehoods” to mislead farmers, he said.

      Since the BJP came to power at the Centre, the party has won 14 of 17 assembly bypolls and emerged victor in all four MLC seat elections, he said.

    Amid protests by farmers, thousands of whom have been agitating at the Delhi borders, and opposition parties’ support to them, the BJP has cited results in a number of elections across the country to assert that the farm laws enjoy support from a vast majority of farmers.

      Chandrasekhar said the message people of the country have given time and again is they want development and governance and trust Modi.