Reportedly, the Centre is planning to make an appeal to the agitating farmers to call off the ongoing strike against the three contentious farm laws, expressing how it is diluting the law. Today, the protests by farmers against the farm laws have entered the fifteenth day.
While addressing a press conference today, Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar said, “The government wanted to liberate the farmers of the shackles of mandi so that they could sell their produce anywhere, to anyone, at his own price, outside the purview of mandi.” He added, “We sent a proposal to farmers. They wanted those laws to be repealed. We are of the stand that government is ready for open-minded discussions on provisions they have an objection against. Laws don’t affect APMCs or MSP. We tried to explain this to farmers.”
Meanwhile, Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala through a tweet, questions the purpose of the new Parliament building.
In another tweet, Surjewala lists out the names of farmers who have lost their lives while protesting against the contentious farm laws and questions whether this list 'not stir PM's heart?'.
He even claims that the land reforms bill passed by the BJP government in Karnataka “will open floodgates for the acquisition of farmer’s lands by non-agriculturists.”
Meanwhile, Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal said, “These laws will not affect the APMCs at all. The impression was created that the government will not procure crops under the MSP, but we have made clear that it will continue to happen.” He further added, “There were some concerns that farmers will be forced to sell their produce in the private market. This is completely erroneous, and there is absolutely no provision in the law which brings an element of compulsion on any farmer.”
Earlier, while interacting with the media, former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath said, “The new agriculture laws brought by the Centre will exploit the farmers.” He further alleged, “This government is working aimlessly, and it is going to ruin the entire country.”
Besides, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that the Centre was ‘sensitive’ about the farmers’ demands and has addressed their main issues in a ‘transparent’ manner.
On Wednesday, the farmers have announced that they would step up protests and rejected the government’s draft proposal. They have announced that they will close Delhi-Jaipur Highway, boycott Reliance and Jio.
