News Analysis India

Tag: Farmers stir

  • Farmers prepared to protest till May 2024: Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait

    By PTI
    NAGPUR: Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait on Sunday said farmers are prepared to protest against the Centre’s new farm laws “till May 2024”, and termed the ongoing agitation by peasants at Delhi borders as an “ideological revolution”.

    Addressing a press conference in Nagpur, Tikait said they want a legal guarantee on Minimum Support Price (MSP).

    Farmers have been protesting near Delhi since November 26, 2020, demanding scrapping of the three new farm laws, which have been projected by the Centre 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 the MSP and do away with the mandi system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.

    The Supreme Court last Tuesday stayed the implementation of the three new farm laws till further orders and decided to set up a four-member committee to resolve the impasse over them between the Centre and farmers’ unions protesting at Delhi borders.

    ALSO READ| SC to hear pleas on farm laws after recusal of member from panel set up to resolve impasse

    Asked how long will farmers will sit in protest, Tikait said, “We are prepared to sit in protest till May 2024…our demand is that the three laws be taken back and the government provide a legal guarantee on the MSP.”

    The next Lok Sabha elections in the country will be due around April-May 2024. Dismissed allegations that the protest was being fuelled by “rich farmers”, Tikait said people from villages and various outfits have joined the protest.

    “This is an ideological revolution of farmers started from Delhi and will not fail. Farmers from villages do not want us come back until the three farm bills are taken back. The government is adamant on its stance of not withdrawing the bills and this agitation will continue for long,” Tikait added.

    He welcomed the SC’s decision on staying the implementation of the farm laws, but said the committee formed by the apex court has members who “supported” the farm bills. “We do not want to go before the committee formed by the court. The government has also said that the government and farmers will find solution on this issue,” he said.

    ALSO READ| SC-appointed panel on farm laws to hold first meeting on January 19

    Tikait also said the opposition parties in the country were weak and that is why farmers had to start this agitation against the Centre’s new laws.

    On National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) notices to some people supporting the farmers’ protest, he said, “Those who want to be part of the agitation must be ready for court cases, imprisonment and sealing of property.”

  • Doubling farmers income biggest priority of Narendra Modi government: Amit Shah

    By PTI
    BAGALKOTE: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said doubling farmers income was the biggest priority of the Narendra Modi government and that the three central farm laws would ensure manifold hike in their earnings.

    He said that since coming to power, the Modi government had increased the budget for the farm sector and also the minimum support price (MSP) for various crops. “I want to say that if there is any big priority of the Narendra Modi government it is to double the farmers income,” he said at an event in Kerakalmatti village in this district in Karnataka.

    Speaking after laying the foundation stone and inauguration of farmer-friendly projects of the MRN group, headed by newly inducted Karnataka Minister Murugesh R Nirani, Shah listed out various programmes and initiatives of the central government for the welfare of the farmers.

    Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa led BJP government in the state too has not left any stone unturned to work for the welfare of farmers, the Home Minister said. He added that if there was any government that was in the forefront of implementing central schemes and programmes in the country, it was the government here.

    Questioning the Congress as to why it could not take up measures like Rs 6,000 cash support per year for farmers and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana insurance scheme among others, he said, it was because the party’s intentions were not right.

    “The Narendra Modi government is a government dedicated to farmers. Three new laws that the Modi government has brought in, which the Karnataka government has also passed…I want to congratulate Yediyurapp for it. Farmer’s income will increase multifold due to them,” he said.

    His remarks came amid the continuing agitation by farmers, especially from Punjab and Haryana, on the borders of Delhi, demanding the repeal of the three laws. The Home Minister added that farmers were not compelled anymore to sell their produce at one place and can get access to global and Indian markets of choice for their crops.

    Shah also said none had the courage to abrogate the provisions of Article 370 and Article 35A in Kashmir in the past 70 years. “You made Modi the Prime Minister and on August 5, 2019 he ended Article 370 and Article 35A from Kashmir and connected it with India permanently. Today elections have also happened there peacefully without shedding even a drop of blood and Kashmir has become ours permanently,” he added.

    Pointing out that the projects of the MRN group included expansion of ethanol unit, Shah said, the Modi government was giving impetus to promote ethanol production and usage as it will benefit farmers, environment and economy.

    ALSO READ| In message to detractors and Opposition, Amit Shah backs BS Yediyurappa’s leadership

    “Most of our foreign exchange gets spent on oil – petrol and diesel – imports, and an alternative to it is ethanol which is a byproduct of sugarcane…. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given impetus to increasing production of ethanol and its use as it will increase farmers income, get profit for sugar mills and save foreign exchange,” he said.

    Shah also asked people to continue their “support and blessing” for the BJP and Modi so as to continue with the agenda of making “Atmanirbhar Bharat”.

    Expressing gratitude to the people of the state for supporting the Modi-led BJP in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls and ensuring strong leadership for the country, he said, “whenever our workers come to you whether it is assembly or Lok Sabha or recently concluded panchayat polls, you have blessed us.

  • Protesting farmers don’t know what they want, are agitating on the behest of someone: Hema Malini

    By ANI
    MATHURA: Farmers agitating at the borders of Delhi don’t know what they want, said veteran actor and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Mathura, Hema Malini, and added that they are only protesting because someone had asked them to do so.

    “It is good that the Supreme Court has stayed the laws. This will hopefully calm the situation. Farmers are not willing to come to a consensus even after so many talks. They do not even know what they want and what is the problem with the farm laws. This means that they are doing this because someone asked them to do it,” Hema Malini said.

    She also said that it was ‘not nice’ to see towers being vandalised in Punjab. “Punjab has suffered a lot of losses. It was not nice to see them (farmers) vandalise towers. The government has called them for talks repeatedly but they don’t even have an agenda,” she added.

    Speaking about the COVID-19 situation, she reminded people that the pandemic is not yet over and masks should be used and safety protocols followed. “Corona is not yet over. Some people from our party passed away due to the disease. The general public should continue to be more cautious. If we roam around freely (without precautions) it will increase again. Especially with this new bird flu, everyone should take care of themselves and their family,” she said.

    The actor-turned-politician further said that she would definitely be vaccinated when her turn comes. “Good that the vaccine is here now. I will definitely get the vaccine when my turn comes. The opposition has also said some things. Whatever the government says they have to say just the opposite,” she said.

  • Akali Dal terms use of force by Haryana government against farmers ‘arrogant, power-drunken’

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday condemned the use of force against farmers in Haryana, terming it “arrogant and power-drunken” response by the BJP government.

    The Haryana Police used water cannons and lobbed teargas shells to prevent protesting farmers from marching towards Kaimla village in Karnal district where Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar was to address people to highlight the “benefits” of the Centre’s three agriculture laws.

    The farmers, however, reached the village and vandalised the venue of the ‘kisan mahapanchayat’ programme besides damaging the makeshift helipad where Khattar’s copter was to land. The CM did not attend the event.

    Badal said the “wanton and brutal repression” by the Manohar Lal Khattar dispensation against “peacefully and democratically” protesting farmers clearly showed the BJP governments at the Centre and states were “full of hatred for the farmers”.

    They have “no intention” of resolving the crisis created by the passage of three Acts on marketing of farmers’ produce, the SAD president said in a statement. “It is shocking that no effort was made at all by those in power in Haryana to talk to the farmers who were protesting peacefully. Instead, they abused the might of the state to provoke and suppress democratic protests,” said Badal, whose party has broken ties with the NDA after the promulgation of the three Acts.

    The police “repression”, including use of water cannons, showed how “insensitive” the BJP has become to the plight of the farmers, the SAD president said and lauded the farmers’ organisations for leading an “exemplary peaceful, disciplined and democratic movement”.

    ALSO READ| 40-year-old Punjab farmer ends life at Singhu border: Haryana Police

    For over a month several farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, are camping at the borders of Delhi to protest the three farms laws, which the NDA claims will reform the agri sector.

    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.

    “The world has not seen a movement like this by beleaguered peasantry for a long time now. I am running out of words to express my admiration for the farmers and the farmers organisations for this unprecedented movement. The SAD stands fully with our brave but beleaguered brethren, the farmers,” Badal said.

    The Akali leader also came down heavily on the Punjab BJP leaders for their “highly provocative statements and acts” against the agitating farmers. He asked the BJP leaders to refrain from disturbing the hard-earned atmosphere of peace in Punjab.

    “The Punjab unit of the BJP is rubbing salt in farmers’ wounds. I fail to understand this party’s overall mindset against the farmers. On one hand they are inviting farmers for talks while on the other they are provoking them through protests and provocative acts against them,” Badal said.

    He asked the BJP to understand that “the whole of Punjab stands solidly behind farmers. People will never forgive those who don’t stand solidly by the country’s annadata (food providers). The BJP is totally isolated”.

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

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday appealed to people to join the social media campaign ‘Kisaan Ke Liye Bole Bharat’ supporting the farmer protests. The campaign started at 10 am.

    “Peaceful protests are an integral part of our democracy. Our farmer brothers and sisters are receiving support from all across the country. You should also join along in support of them so that the anti-farmer laws are repealed. #kisaan_ke_liye_bole_bharat,” Gandhi tweeted.

    मोदी सरकार ने अपने पूँजीपति मित्रों के फ़ायदे के लिए देश के अन्नदाता के साथ विश्वासघात किया है।आंदोलन के माध्यम से किसान अपनी बात कह चुके हैं। अन्नदाताओं की आवाज़ उठाना और उनकी माँगों का समर्थन करना हम सब का कर्तव्य है।#किसान_के_लिए_बोले_भारत pic.twitter.com/3FYFTiNR1N
    — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 8, 2021

    He also shared a video on Twitter related to the campaign asking people to share their views on farmer protests via posts and videos on social media. The video claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party is anti-farmers while Congress works towards their betterment. He said Congress will fight with the farmers to get the three contentious farm laws repealed.

    “The country is going to face a Champaran like tragedy once again. Then there was with British company the farmers had to fight with, now it is with Modi’s friends’ companies. But every farmer of the movement is a Satyagrahi who will continue to fight for his rights,” the Congress tweeted on January 3.

    The Congress party has time and again slammed the Union government over the farm laws. Earlier, Rahul Gandhi met with President Ram Nath Kovind to discuss the laws and the issues faced by protesting farmers.

    Farmers are protesting at the borders of Delhi since November 26 against the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.