Delhi Prime Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Thursday that his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will oppose three “anti-farmers” bills in Parliament that seek to replace ordinances introduced earlier this year to release the outdated agricultural sector of the country. The ordinances have sparked protests from farmers, especially in Punjab and Haryana. Protesters say the Agricultural Products Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance in particular threatens the federally-set minimum support prices they get for their products.
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Congress and the left have opposed proposed laws, including the Farmers Price Guarantee Agreement (Empowerment and Protection) Act and the Farm Services Act. They have backed farmers’ groups who oppose the bills and have called for coordinated protests in Parliament. Opposition parties plan to paralyze the bills in parliament and have tried to send them to select parliamentary committees for review.
“The three agricultural bills are anti-farmer in nature. Farmers across the country are protesting against them. The central government should roll back the law. The Aam Aadmi Party will oppose the three bills in parliament, ”tweeted Kejriwal, who is also the national coordinator of the AAP.
The AAP has one member in the Punjab Lok Sabha and three in the Rajya Sabha. It is the second largest party in the Punjab assembly with 19 seats in the 117-member House.
Farmers in Haryana and Punjab have protested against the three ordinances. The Bharatiya Kisan Union held a demonstration and blocked National Highway 44 near Kurukshetra.
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