As thousands of farmers camped on Delhi’s borders seeking the repeal of three new farm laws, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told a group of farmers backing these laws on Monday that these measures will benefit the peasantry and the agricultural sector. and that the government will handle such upheavals. . The delegation of 20 “progressive farmers” from Haryana, led by recipient Padma Shri Kanwal Singh Chauhan, said the government can amend some provisions of the laws, but should not repeal them.
The members of the delegation said that they were individual farmers and representatives of agricultural producer organizations (OPF). The delegation included the national president of the Bharatiya Kisan (Attar) Union, Attar Singh Sandhu. The meeting took place one day before a ‘Bharat Bandh’ to be observed by the protesting farmers’ organizations on Tuesday. Addressing the delegation, Tomar said: “Aise chalega andolan vagera, iss se toh niptenge. App logo iss invoices ko samarthan karne ke liya pauchhe hai, apko swagat aur hruday se danyawaad karta hoon (This type of protests will continue We will handle them. I welcome your support of the bills and sincerely thank you. Explaining the benefits that these laws will bring to farmers and the entire agricultural sector, he said the reforms will bring private investment, create jobs in the villages and make farming profitable.
“The more private investment, the more profitable the agricultural sector,” Tomar said, adding that agricultural infrastructure, such as cold storage and warehousing, to be created in villages and the establishment of 10,000 FPOs will discourage farmers. to sell your distressed products. The minister also said that farmers can store their products in cold storage or storage units that would emerge as a result of the reforms and sell them when they get better rates.
Tomar also said that the Swaminathan Commission was established during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure and presented a report in 2006. “But between 2006 and 2014, people had time. If they had wanted, these reforms could have been implemented. But they didn’t have the time. guts to implement it, “he said. The minister said that before the elections Congress and other parties had promised agricultural reforms in their manifestos. “If they (the opposition parties) had come to power, they would have implemented it. Agricultural growth has declined dramatically over the years due to a lack of private investment, while other sectors that attracted private investment have grown.” , said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, through these laws and various schemes, has tried to encourage private investment in the agricultural sector, Tomar added. In their memorandum, the group of 20 farmers demanded that the government consider the amendments suggested by the protesting farmers’ unions, but not repeal them.
“Take into account the suggestion of the farmers’ unions and continue the agricultural laws. Ensure the continuity of the MSP and the mandi system. We ask that you continue the agricultural laws,” they said in the memorandum. Kanwal Singh Chauhan, president of the Sonepat Progressive Farmers Club, said: “Farmers are being misled. We know that neither the MSP nor the mandi will be discarded. We want the government to put this in writing. We also want the government to reduce the tax. al mandi so that the fear of mandi weakening is ruled out. The national president of BKU (Attar) said: “If the government had given the continuity of the MSP in writing, the protest would not have happened. We support the new agricultural laws, but all problems will be solved if the MSP is assured in writing.” He claimed that the protest is “politically motivated by Congress,” which is “misleading” farmers.
The group also said that protesting farmers were being “duped” for political gain. “I have come here asking the government not to repeal the laws under pressure from protesting farmers. They are deceived. Politics should not derail the reforms,” said Manjit Kumar, a farmer from Gurugram.
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