Current affairs

From north to south: Armed with the opposition, farmers intensify the agitation against the farm bills!

By alagu, 28 September, 2020
India, Farmers, Protests., Farm Bills

Farmers and the opposition parties across the country have been intensifying their agitations against the three controversial farm bills that were proposed and passed by the Central government, which the farmers say that these legislations would irk them and be the gateway for the private players and the Agri companies to dominate their markets, which would ultimately push them to more vulnerability by losing the Minimum Support Price (MSP). 

The Central ruling Modi government had passed the bills during the ongoing Monsoon session of the Parliament. During the passage, the members of the opposition parties in both the chambers had strongly opposed the bills and demanded the government to withdraw the bills. However, amid the protests, the bills had got passed in the Parliament, and on Sunday, President Ram Nath Kovind had given his assent to the bills, and the bills were gazetted as a law in the midst of the agitations from the farmers across the nation. 

The protests across the nation had intensified following the presidential consent for three contentious bills. On Monday, a tractor was set on fire at India Gate in Delhi as part of the protests against the legislations. According to reports, around 15-20 people had set a tractor on fire at India Gate following which a team of police was immediately sent to the location to douse the flames. The torched tractor was removed from the location and the fire department had extinguished the fire. 

 

The police said that the group of men had chanted slogans before setting the tractor on fire and stated that legal action is being taken regarding the development and the police are under the process of identifying the people who are involved in the act. The veins of protests had occupied across the nation from north to south as apart from Delhi, the farmers, and the opposition parties in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu have been staunchly protesting against the Central government to withdraw the controversial bills. 

Following the incident in Delhi, the Central ruling BJP had blamed Congress over the burning of a tractor near the India Gate and claimed that the opposition party had shamed the country with its drama aimed at publicity and misleading farmers. Union Minister Prakash Javadekar had condemned the act and said that the Congress Party has been trying to do politics in the name of farmers. 

In Karnataka, the pro-farmer organizations had protested along with the social and political outfits on Monday against the amendments to the APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) and land reforms act. The protests were against two important amendments to the Karnataka Land Reforms Act and APMC Act that were passed by the Karnataka Assembly amid the strong opposition from the opposition. 

The protests have been carried out across various parts of the state including Bengaluru, Mysuru, and Mandya. Karnataka Raitha Sangha (Karnataka's Farmers' Association) and other farmer unions had called for a bandh in the state and the call was supported by the Congress party, JD(S), and the Left parties. Despite the appeal from the Chief Minister, the farmers have been staging protests with the demand to take back the amendments by stating that they would lose the Minimum Support Price. 

 

In Tamil Nadu, the opposition parties headed by DMK had held protests in and out of Chennai. DMK President MK Stalin, MDMK Chief Vaiko, and other allied party leaders had taken part in the protests on Monday in Kancheepuram district in the state. Stalin led the protests where hundreds of farmers had participated with the demand of urging the Center to repeal the bills. 

The leaders and farmers wore the masks etched with their demand and they chanted against the bills and demanded the Center to revoke it. Taking to Twitter about the protests, MK Stalin said, "Through today's protests, we have shown that we stand with the Tamil Nadu Farmers. We will continue to protest, the betrayals of the AIADMK government so far are enough".

 

By referring to the ADMK government, Stalin further said, "You will be thrown into the trash if you fail to oppose the farm bills through joining in cases that were filed against the farm bills in the Supreme Court". According to reports, DMK Youth Wing Secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin had staged protests in Valluvor Kottam in Chennai, and the opposition leaders, party members, and farmers had taken part in the agitation with the demand of urging the Center to revoke the anti-farm bills. Amid the agitations, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter and said, "The agriculture laws are a death sentence to our farmers. Their voice is crushed in Parliament and outside". 


 

 

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