Amid protests in the national capital against the new agricultural reforms introduced by the Modi government, a poll by News18 Network found that the majority of Indians support the implementation of the new laws and think that the agitation of farmers should be cancelled.
In the survey, conducted in 22 states with more than 2,400 respondents, most believed that the new farm reform laws would benefit crop producers, and the data showed that support for the new laws was strong in most states. agrarian, especially in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya. Pradesh Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
The only exception was Punjab, where support was found to be somewhat moderate in comparison, as the issue of agricultural sector liberalization has become highly politicized.
The poll found that general support for the new laws across the country was 53.6 percent, and 56.59 percent believed it was time for farmers to call off their protest.
The agrarian reforms introduced by the central government allow, for the first time, the trade of agricultural products outside the mandis regulated by APMC. Private mandis can be established across the country where anyone can buy produce from farmers. The government has said that this is designed to give farmers more options about who to sell their produce to, and more buyers will lead to a better price for farmers.
More than three in five people News18 spoke to for the survey agreed that farmers could get better prices under the new farm reform laws, and when asked whether to give farmers the option to sell their produce outside of APMC mandis was the right decision. , support grew to 73 percent.
About half of the respondents (48.7 percent) said they felt that opposition to agricultural reforms was politically motivated, and more than half (52.69 percent) believed that protesting farmers should not insist on the repeal of the agrarian reform laws and had to reach a compromise with the government.
The central government has held several rounds of dialogue with farmers camping around Delhi in protest and has offered various concessions to address their fears and concerns, but farmers’ unions have insisted on repeal of all three laws, prompting a freeze in the country. talks.
After six rounds of talks, the government said it offered “guarantees” based on exactly what farmers had asked for during talks that lasted more than 20 hours, including a written guarantee of the Minimum Sustenance Price.
The MSP government’s written guarantee, which offers a safety net to farmers and was one of the key demands of the protest groups, was also supported by respondents, with 53.94 percent of respondents agreeing. agree with the decision.
Support for reform and modernization of agriculture was found to be high in all regions (over 70%), with the highest support in southern states at 74%.
For the new laws introduced, the largest number of respondents from North India expressed support with 63.77 percent, followed by West India with 62.90 percent. Respondents from all areas also support that farmers have the right to sell their produce outside of APMC mandis.
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