Protests By Congress Across State Against Farm Bills

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President & MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy today said that the farmers' bills passed by the BJP government in the Parliament would only benefit corporate honchos like the Adanis and the Ambanis, and not the farmers.

Addressing a press conference along with TPCC Working President & MP A Revanth Reddy in the Parliament premises today, Reddy strongly condemned the BJP government for "selling away" the interests of the farmers to help a few corporates.

He announced that the Congress, in collaboration with the farmers' organisations, would organise agitations across Telangana on September 25 against these "anti-farmer policies" of the Modi government.

He said that massive protests would be held at all district headquarters and in all Assembly constituencies.

Uttam said that the BJP government got the Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, passed in the Lok Sabha based on its numerical strength in the House. He said that the bills were passed without taking into consideration the objections raised by the Congress and other opposition parties.

He added that the union government later behaved in an undemocratic manner when it passed the bills in the Rajya Sabha. He said that all rules were flouted and that set precedents were not followed while passing the bills in the upper house.

The TPCC President said that the bills had snatched away the protection granted to the farming community by the Constitution, and that private institutions had been given the license to exploit the farmers as per their will.

He said that there was no mention of a Minimum Support Price (MSP) to the farmers and no provision made to regulate contract farming in the bills. The new farm bills had also ended the system of market yards where the farmers sold their produce, which would be detrimental to the latter.

Citing an instance, he said that the system of market yards had been abolished in Bihar in 2006. Consequently, the farmers of Bihar were unable to sell their produce at an MSP. Thus, while the farmers of Telangana and other states were selling paddy for Rs 1,815 per quintal, those of Bihar were forced to sell it for just Rs 1,300 per quintal. Likewise, they were getting 30% less revenue for maize, too, Reddy claimed.

With the BJP government's new bills, all the farmers across the rest of the country would face the same plight as the Bihar farmers, he claimed.

Reddy also said that the new law did not specify that the contract price should be above the MSP.

"It is clear that the new laws don't have empowerment or protection or price assurance for the farmers. The laws are meant to give freedom to companies to do contract farming, but do nothing for the farmers. The ECA amendment will promote hoarding of food commodities by corporations. There is absolutely no restriction on farmers or Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) from stocking produce and selling it. The new laws will sound the death knell of MSP procurement and the market yard purchase systems," he said.

He also alleged that the union government had given up its own power to prevent hoarding and food price inflation. "Only farmers had the freedom to stock earlier. Now companies are also getting unlimited stocking powers. This puts the farmers at the mercy of big agri-business companies which will control the market hereon. In the guise of helping the farmers, the government is completely changing the system in favour of big corporates," he alleged.