Updated: November 30, 2020 7:56:11 am
Peasant leaders hold a press conference on the Singhu border on Sunday. (Express photo: Gajendra Yadav)
As farmers in Punjab and Haryana, seeking repeal of the new farm laws, continued to protest outside Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Interior Minister Amit Shah backed the laws on Sunday, saying they were for the benefit of the farmers.
Late at night, Shah, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar met at the residence of BJP President JP Nadda.
In his Mann Ki Baat speech, Modi said that farmers’ demands, promised at one point or another by all political parties, had been met through these laws. He called on young people, “especially those studying agriculture”, to go to the villages and raise awareness among farmers about the new laws.
“New dimensions are being added,” he said, to agriculture and related industries. “The agricultural reforms of the last few days have opened doors to new possibilities. For years the demands of the peasants have been fulfilled, demands that at one time or another all the political parties promised. After much debate, Parliament legally recognized the agricultural reforms. These reforms have not only removed many restrictions for farmers, but have given them new rights and opportunities, ”he said.
Read | Farmers refuse to move, say they will intensify protests
Meanwhile, Shah said he had never said that the farmers’ protests were political. “Everyone has that right (to protest) in a democracy. But I want to say that all three farm laws benefit farmers. And after a long time, the farmer is going to come out of a restricted system … I have never called the farmers’ protest as a policy. I’m not saying that now either, ”he told reporters in Hyderabad.
Union Interior Secretary Ajay Bhalla, writing to the farmers’ unions organizing the protest, assured them that all their problems would be addressed in discussions with a high-level committee of Trade Union Ministers in Vigyan Bhavan on December 3.
He said that this discussion can take place sooner if all the unions bring together protesting farmers on the designated ground in Burari on the outskirts of Delhi.
Explained | Farmers’ great concern and what the government could negotiate
“Some unions have demanded that the discussions take place before December 3. The moment they move to the field in Burari, the next day, a high-level committee of union ministers is ready to meet with the representatives of the farmers’ unions in Vigyan Bhavan, ”he said in his letter.
Bhalla said that due to the call for protest from 30 farmers’ unions, a large number of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and other parts of the country have gathered near the Delhi borders, disrupting traffic on two key roads between Punjab and Delhi since November 27.
“According to the available information, due to the severe cold, farmers are facing many problems. In the wake of the Covid pandemic, there is a threat of infection due to such large gatherings, ”he said in the letter, urging farmers to move to Burari.
The Prime Minister, in his Mann Ki Baat speech, spoke of the “new rights” that the new laws had granted to farmers.
He cited the example of a farmer in the Dhule district of Maharashtra whose “full knowledge of the laws has come to his aid.”
Read also | Why Protesting Farmers Are Still Talking About Two Private Members Bills From 2018
“Jitendra Bhoiji had grown corn and decided to sell it at the right price to traders. The price of the harvest was decided at Rs 3.32 lakh. Jitendra Bhoi also received 25,000 rupees in advance. It was decided that the rest of the money would be delivered to him in 15 days. But circumstances later turned out that he did not receive the money. Buy the crop from the farmer, don’t pay for months. Perhaps people were following the practice followed for many years. In the same way, for four months, the payment of Jitendraji did not happen. In this situation, the new agricultural laws came to his aid ”.
“In this law, it has been decided that in three days, the farmer must receive the full payment. And if the payment is not made, the farmer can file a complaint. The law has another very important thing. In this law, there is a provision that establishes that the SDM of the area must address the farmer’s complaint within one month. Now when our brother farmer got the force of this law, his problem was solved. He complained, and within days his dues were paid. In other words, full knowledge of the laws became Jitendraji’s strength. Whatever the field, away from all kinds of rumors and misconceptions, correct information is a great help for all people, ”said Modi.
He cited two other examples: Mohammad Aslam from Baran in Rajasthan, CEO of a local produce organization that has created a WhatsApp farmer group with prevailing mandi rates, and Virendra Yadav from Kaithal, who has done Rs 2 business. crore in two years. selling agricultural stubble to agroenergy plants and paper mills using straw packing machines.
“I ask young people, and especially the thousands of students studying agriculture, to go to nearby towns and raise awareness among farmers about the recently approved agricultural reforms. By doing this, they will be partners in the great change that is taking place in the country, ”he said.
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