Page 6 - The Indian EYE 120321

BIG STORY DECEMBER 03, 2021 | The Indian Eye 6

A farmer sitting at a protest site at the Delhi-Ghazipur border on Thursday (ANI) A farmer leader addresses a gathering during a sit-in protest at Tikri border in Delhi (ANI)

Government should hold talks with open-ended procurement is a prob- and should be introduced,” he add- mand for a law on Minimum Support
us. Otherwise, we will not go home,” lem. We require 41 lakh tonnes of ed. Price (MSP) and compensation for
he had added. He said it took almost grains for buffer stock but procured But days after the Centre an- the kind of the farmers who lost their
one year to make the “government 110 lakh tonnes. If MSP law is made, nounced repealing of farm laws, lives during agitation, he said, “They
understand that that the farm laws all farmers will demand MSP for Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Ge- are still angry, I think Agriculture
will harm the farmers, workers and their crops and no one will be in a po- hlot on Thursday said that arrogance Minister and his colleagues should
shopkeepers of the country”. sition to earn anything out of that,” does not work in the democracy add- talk to them”.
He also alleged that the Centre he added. ing that democracy requires “bowing As the BJP government finds it-
tried to divide farmers on the issue of Ghanwat also termed the move down” to convince the public. “Farm- self cornered by farmers, other polit-
farms laws. “The government tried to repeal the three farm laws as “un- ers are pained because many of them ical parties are trying to put it under
to create division among farmers. fortunate”. “Farmers were demand- died. It is the duty of the government more pressure. Delhi government
The government said they could not ing reforms for the last 40 years. This to create an environment conducive will table a resolution in the assembly
convince ‘some farmers’. Prime Min- is not a good step. The existing system to talks. I think they will come for- to demand compensation to families
ister also sought an apology (from of agriculture is not enough,” he said. ward to find a solution. Arrogance of “more than 700 farmers” who al-
people). But the apology will not “Even if the new laws which were does not work in a democracy, you legedly died during protests, a legal
bring farmers the fair price of their introduced were not very perfect, need to bow down and convince guarantee on Minimum Support
produce. Farmers will get the price if there were some flaws which needed the public, “ Gehlot told the medi- Price (MSP) and the arrest of Union
a law is made on MSP,” Tikait said. to be corrected. I think this govern- apersons. “No agitation goes on for Minister of State Ajay Mishra over
As the farmers harden their ment had the will to reform agricul- a year. In a democracy, the govern- his alleged involvement in the Lakh-
stand, some experts have said that ture as the earlier governments didn’t ment either has to convince the other impur Kheri violence.
Indian economy will face a crisis if have the political will. I hope another party or convince themselves. The Meanwhile, Rashtriya Janata
a law is made for guaranteeing min- committee will be formed comprising matter escalated to such an extent Dal national president Lalu Prasad
imum support price (MSP) for crops. of opposition leaders and farm lead- that PM apologised to the nation and Yadav on Wednesday said the deci-
Anil Ghanwat, a member of the Su- ers from all states and then new farm farmers,” he added. sion to repeal the three farm laws was
preme Court-appointed committee laws are discussed in the parliament Reacting on the farmer’s de- the Centre’s defeat and the crushing
on farm laws, said: “If there is going of its arrogance. Addressing an event
to be a law (on MSP), we (India) organised by the party, Yadav said, “I
will face a crisis. With the law, if the congratulate the farmers of the coun-
(procurement) process goes down try who struggled for so long and died
someday, no one will be able to buy for the cause. Today they have won
the produce as procuring it at a price and the Central government has lost.
lower than the MSP will be illegal Arrogance has been crushed. Until
and they (traders) will be put in jails the government declares a guarantee
for it,” Ghanwat said. on MSP, the protest will not stop. The
Ghanwat, who is president of labourers will also benefit from this.”
Shetkari Sangathan, said both the The RJD chief also warned the
central government and the farmer central government of protests if the
leaders should think of some other law on the Minimum Support Price
way to boost farm incomes and that a is not enacted. “If they do not make
law on MSP is not a solution. “It’s go- a law on MSP, then the RJD will pro-
ing to be a crisis because not only the test,” he said.
traders will be harmed but also the The Modi government hoped to
stockists and everybody else related placate the farmers by rolling back
to it. Even the commodity market Bharatiya Kisan union (BKu) spokesperson Rakesh Tikait with others during the ‘Maha Dharna’ the three farm laws. But now, it has
will be disturbed. It will be distort- of All-India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) to mark one year of farmers’ a bigger demand – and challenge – of
ed,” he said. protest, at Dharna Chowk, Indira Park, in Hyderabad on Thursday (ANI) meeting their demand for guaran-
“We are not against MSP, but teed Minimum Support Price.

www.TheIndianEYE.com