NEW DELHI: In a scathing attack on the Center over the farmers‘protests, Congress President Sonia Gandhi said Sunday that for the first time since independence a government so “arrogant” has come to power that it cannot see the sufferings of the ‘annadatas’, and demanded that the new agricultural laws be immediately withdrawn unconditionally.
In a statement in Hindi, he said that governments and their leaders who ignore public sentiments in a democracy cannot rule for long and it is now quite clear that protesting farmers will not bow to the Center’s policy of “tiredness and prey.” easy”.
“There is still time, the Modi government must leave the arrogance of power and immediately withdraw the three black laws unconditionally to end the agitation of the peasants who are dying in the cold and rain. This is Rajdharma and a true tribute to the farmers who have lost their lives, “Gandhi said.
The Modi government must remember that democracy means protecting the interests of people and farmer-workers, he said.
“Along with the people of the country, I am also concerned to see the condition of the ‘annadatas’ who have been waving for 39 days on the Delhi borders amid the cold and rain in support of their demands,” Gandhi said.
In the wake of government apathy, so far more than 50 farmers have lost their lives and some have even taken the step of committing suicide due to government negligence, he said.
“But neither the ruthless Modi government gave in nor did the Prime Minister nor any other minister utter a word of comfort until today. I pay my respects to all the deceased farmer brothers and pray to the Lord to give their families the strength to bear this pain, ”said the president of Congress.
“Since independence, this is the first government so arrogant that it comes to power in the history of the country that, leaving the people alone, they cannot even see the sufferings and struggles of the ‘annadatas’,” he said.
It seems that securing profits for a handful of industrialists has become the main agenda of this government, Gandhi argued.
Congress has been seeking repeal of the three new farm laws, claiming they will ruin agriculture and farmers. Congress also supports farmer agitation against the legislation.
After the sixth round of formal negotiations on Wednesday, the government and agricultural unions reached common ground to resolve the concerns of farmers protesting the increase in electricity rates and penalties for stubble burning, but both parties remained stagnant on the main contentious issues of the repeal. of three agricultural laws and a legal guarantee for a minimum support price (MSP).
Facing the cold, thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, protest at various borders of the national capital for more than a month against these laws.
The government has presented these laws as major agricultural sector reforms aimed at helping farmers and increasing their incomes, but protesting unions fear that the new legislation will leave them at the mercy of large corporations by weakening the MSP and mandi systems.
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