The BJP has been claiming that Congress is misleading and inciting farmers for political gain.
New Delhi:
The BJP’s dispute with Congress over the farmers’ protest continued late into the night today with the head of the party, JP Nadda, tweeting a video of the head of Congress, Sonia Gandhi. The video, Nadda said, re-exposes Congress, confusing farmers.
“The reality of Congress, which confuses farmers and deprives them of their rights, is revealed again. Sonia Gandhi used to advocate for a middleman-free market for farmers and now she opposes it. This is proof of the opportunistic thinking of Congress, little information and double talking, “his tweet read.
किसानों को भ्रमित करने और उन्हें उनके अधिकारों से वंचित रखने वाली कांग्रेस का सच फिर उजागर हुआ है। सोनिया गांधी जी पहले किसानों के लिए बिचौलिया मुक्त बाजार की वकालत करती थी और अब इसका विरोध करती है। ये कांग्रेस की मौक़ापरस्त सोच, कम जानकारी व बार-बार बात से पलटने का प्रमाण है। pic.twitter.com/kL17RnssSv
– Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) Dec 24, 2020
In the undated video, Sonia Gandhi appears to be speaking out in favor of removing middlemen to allow farmers to get “the right price for agricultural products.”
The BJP has been claiming that Congress is misleading and inciting farmers for political gain. Several BJP leaders and ministers have said that the reforms carried out by the NDA government in the agricultural sector were on the opposition’s to-do list when it was in power.
Earlier this month, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that Congress was in favor of privatization in the agricultural sector when he was in power. The repeal of the APMC Act was part of the 2019 congressional manifesto. Contract farming also began during the Manmohan Singh government in many congressional states, the minister said.
These are also the various charges for which farmers have demanded the removal of the Center’s three farm laws passed in September.
Farmers fear that new laws aimed at cutting out middlemen could lead to a gradual elimination of the minimum support prices guaranteed by the government and mandi. This, they say, would leave them open to exploitation by private buyers.
Contract farming, which is also allowed under the new laws, would lead to similar results, they say.
Congress has responded by saying that they have always been pro-farmers and have kept the focus on price support.
Today, Rahul Gandhi from Congress led a Congressional delegation to meet with President Ram Nath Kovind and seek his intervention to end the massive protests around Delhi. The party has demanded a joint session of parliament to discuss the agricultural laws, claiming they were passed by the government in violation of the rules.
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