-The farmers’ protest entered the 104th day on Tuesday
-Indian Punjab CM says centre’s move on direct payment to farmers is ‘another provocation’
DM Monitoring
NEW DELHI: The ‘Delhi Chalo’ farmers’ protest at border points of New Delhi has entered the 104th day as of yesterday. Thousands of farmers, especially from Punjab and Haryana, are staging a sit-in protest along Delhi borders. The protest started on November 26, 2020.
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Singh Tikait said that thousands of farmers in their tractors would reach Parliament to seek repeal of the three new contentious farm reform laws if needed.
Tikait, one of the prominent leaders of farmer unions which are protesting against the Centre’s new laws on Delhi borders, addressed a huge rally. “If needed, we, on lakhs of tractors will reach Parliament to press for the repeal of the three black laws. 3,500 tractors entered Delhi on Republic Day. These were not hired tractors,” he said.
Why are farmers protesting? The farmers are demanding a complete rollback of the new farm reform laws and a guarantee on the Minimum Support Price (MSP) system being retained. Multiple rounds of talks between the Centre and the farmers’ union leaders have ended in a stalemate. Protesting farmers fear that the new laws will dismantle the MSP system and corporatise farming.
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh yesterday dubbed the Centre’s move on direct payment to farmers for crop procurement as “another provocation”, saying it will further aggravate the current crisis over the farm reform laws. He further said the apathetic attitude of the government of India would not help resolve the situation.
By seeking land records for making e-payment to the farmers directly from the Food Corporation of India (FCI), the situation would worsen, he said. Notably, the FCI has written to the state government for land records to make direct payment to farmers for crop procurement.
India has reacted strongly to the British Parliament debating the “safety of farmers” and “press freedom” in India amid the ongoing farmers’ protest. The Indian High Commission in London said that foreign media, including news organisations from the United Kingdom, are present in India and have witnessed the events around the ongoing farmers’ protest first-hand. Thus, the High Commission said that the question of lack of freedom for the media in India does not arise.
Days back thousands of women joined protests by farmers on the outskirts of Delhi to mark International Women’s Day.
Wearing bright yellow scarves representing the colour of mustard fields, the women took centre stage at one key site, chanting slogans, holding small marches, and making speeches through loudspeakers to target the laws.
