September 20, 2020 9:03:35 pm
In the village of Bhuttiwala in Mukatsar. (Photo Express)
AT LEAST TWO MLAs from the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) joined farmers protests, who oppose the Center’s three farm bills in Haryana on Sunday.
JJP is part of the ruling alliance in the state with BJP, and its main leader Dushyant Chautala is the main deputy minister.
Barwala MLA Jogi Ram Sihag and Shahabad MLA Ram Karan Kala went to support the protesting farmers and assured them of their support. Sihag went to a protest near Sarsod village in Hisar district, where farmers were blocking the national highway connecting Hisar to Chandigarh. Sihag’s constituency is dominated by farmers. “If people in my constituency ask me to resign, I am ready for the same,” he told The Indian Express.
The Barwala MLA further said that before he too used to think the Bills are pro-farmers. “But then I studied the three proposed laws. For the time being, the bills must be withdrawn, ”said the first-time legislator, adding that he would raise the issue at the party meeting.
Sihag said farm workers would be hit the hardest after implementation of bills. “Farmers are forced to sell their products because they do not have space to store them at home. After removing the limit on billboards, the big capitalists will buy all the wheat and rice product. Then there will be nothing left with the government. It will not be available even on mandis. If food grains are available at Rs 500 per kg, how will workers be able to buy them? ” I ask.
In the current system, arhtiyas (commissioned agents in mandis) buy crops from farmers for public procurement agencies instead of a fixed commission from the government. According to Sihag, the mandi system will not survive after the introduction of new laws with “the big capitalists buying most of the food grains.” “If the agricultural products do not go to the mandis, then the arhtiyas will leave their profession to do something else. Then the mandis will not survive. When farmers need to sell two bags of grain in an emergency after two months into the harvest season, who will they sell the same to in the absence of mandis? ”Asked the MLA, who belongs to a family of farmers and has studied until graduation.
ExplainTalking about economics | Why the implementation of the agrarian bills will make or break the latest agricultural reforms
Sihag further said that the arhtiyas give advance payments to farmers whenever they need financial help. “Arhtiyas give advance payments to farmers over and over again even if they do not repay previous loans, but this does not happen in case
banks, ”he added.
Meanwhile, Shahabad MLA Ram Karan Kala visited a farmers’ dharna in his constituency. “I have assured farmers that their demands will be raised with the central and state governments,” said Kala, who had defeated then-state minister Krishan Kumar Bedi in the 2019 Assembly elections.
Farmers’ support was seen as crucial in JJP’s performance in the 2019 Assembly elections when it won 10 seats in the 90-member Vidhan Sabha.
📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines
For the latest news about India, download the Indian Express app.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd
.
