Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal, whose wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned as minister of food processing industries to protest against contentious farm laws, speaks with Sunetra Choudhury on SAD’s resistance to the bill. Edited excerpts:
He is about to go see the president to ask him not to sign the farm laws. Isn’t it a little late now?
We have to do everything we can to stop it. The bill does not become law until the president signs it. We are representing the farmers and on their behalf we are asking the President to reconsider signing the bill. Please send it to Parliament and let it be properly debated there … There was no vote, it just swept away the bills that are being carried out there. [in Rajya Sabha].
We have also seen some extraordinary scenes in parliament this morning. What do you make of that?
I feel like the government should talk to farmers. There is no point putting ministers on television giving clarifications. The ministers themselves should be delegates to meet with farmers and listen to them …
Do you think there is a problem with the bills or just need to communicate the benefits of the legislation, which is eliminating the middleman?
Whether you make it private or not, the middlemen will stay. Do you think {Mukesh} Ambani or {Gautam} Adani will go straight to the farms and buy {produce}? They will obviously have their layer of intermediaries. Second, the mandi system, as it exists, is such that anyone can come and buy from there … Farmers feel that the big corporations will take over. They {the government} say that farmers can resort legally … You can’t make a farmer stand up to a big corporate house … They are poor people who want a sense of security that they get from the government mandi system. .. feel that arguments are being made without consulting stakeholders. We are part of the NDA, at least they could have consulted us.
Didn’t they consult you?
They never told us. We got to know the ordinance in regards to the cabinet. Right there, she {Harsimrat Kaur Badal} said, please don’t pass it on, as it seems they {farmers} are going to have trouble with him. But they approved it, saying that we have three months until the Law comes, we will talk to them …
So when the government said that the MSPs will remain and that the APMCs will continue, is the guarantee not satisfactory?
They have reduced APMC’s jurisdiction from the government to 5-7 acres. They said that in parallel with the APMC, individuals can open the mandis on their own, they will not have to pay taxes. The government mandis charge a tax of 7 to 8% … Basically, {corporate houses} have received tax-free incentives to buy.
What about the way the bills were passed by oral vote?
Outside of {Parliament}, farmers’ rights {are} being obliterated, the internal rights of MPs {are} being obliterated.
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