Thousands of farmers, braving water cannons and tear gas, have reached the borders of Delhi.
New Delhi:
Angry farmers today questioned why the BJP-led central government had to incorporate the three new farm laws, described by the government as agricultural reforms that meet its long-standing demands. The government is only interested in the well-being of businesses, representatives of farmers’ groups said amid the three-month upheaval that has led to the Delhi Chalo protest.
“The government is saying a lot about the effectiveness of the laws. We had a meeting on the 13th and we asked them which farmer asked for these laws,” one of the agricultural leaders said at a press conference tonight.
Referring to the government’s maxim “One nation, one market,” one leader said: “The basic reality is that in 1976, we campaigned against zonal restrictions. We were unable to get wheat out of Punjab. For 40 days, 1,450 farmers were placed in jail. In November 1976, the high court, in an order, said that the government cannot prevent farmers from selling their products anywhere in the country. In 1977, the Janata Party government declared that the entire country will be a single zone “.
Since then, products from anywhere can be sold anywhere in the country, he said. Giving examples, he said that rice from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh goes to Punjab. Onions, oranges and bananas from Maharashtra go everywhere. Punjab farmers bring their crops to Azadpur mandi from Delhi.
“So what is the new thing you have done?” he said. “Just to keep companies happy, they’ve done this … They couldn’t find any logic, so they said they’ve done ‘One nation, one market.’ The reality is they have one nation and two markets,” he added.
“One is the traditional APMC markets and another where there are no rules. Anyone can show a bread card or any other government ID and buy anything. They can even buy wheat from four villages and leave. You can’t say you’ll get the payment, “he said.
Noting the example of sugar cane, he said that in such cases there is no redress.
The farmers rejected the conditional offer of the Union Minister of the Interior, Amit Shah, to enter into early talks. In a letter, Shah had said that talks with farmers will take place on December 3. If they wanted talks before then, they will have to move their protest to a designated location, the farmers said.
“They told us that there will be a meeting on Monday without conditions but we received a letter with the conditions. If they accept our demands, we will go home,” said one of the farmers’ representatives.
“Farmers across the country are agitating. Amit Shah is trying to label it as an agitation of Punjab farmers. They don’t want to accept that the agitation has become an all-India movement. That is why all his letters are running out. to lead us. Other peasant leaders who are protesting should also be invited, “said the agricultural leaders.
Over the past four days, thousands of farmers, braving water cannons, tear gas and barricades from the Haryana police, have arrived at the borders of Delhi. While some of them made it into the city, the rest are sitting in the border areas, saying they are ready to do whatever it takes to see the end of the three farm laws passed by parliament earlier this year.
Earlier today, after holding a meeting where they decided to reject the government’s offer, the farmers said the three anti-farmer and pro-corporate bills should be repealed and the minimum price of crop support guaranteed.
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