2020 Indian Farmers Protest News Update: Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar today appealed the farmers to re-consider proposal sent by Centre and have a dialogue with it to discuss the amendments in Farm Acts. This comes a day after farmers rejected Centre’s proposal saying there was nothing new in it. The farmers also laid out a detailed plan to further intensify their protest across the country. The farmer unions have been demanding the scrapping of three farm laws and minimum support price guarantee in the acts. The Centre has made it clear that it will neither take back the laws nor make MSP part of the acts. It, however, offered to make some amendments with regards to taxes on mandis and power act.
After five rounds of talks, Home Minister Amit Shah called the farmers to discuss and break the deadlock. However, that meeting too did not yield anything as farmers stuck to their demand of taking back laws. The Centre agreed to send a written proposal stating amendments that it wished to make to placate farmers. However, farmers said that there was nothing new in the proposal therefore rejected. Now farmer unions have announced that they would intensify their agitation by blocking the Jaipur-Delhi and the Delhi-Agra expressways by Saturday, and escalate it to a nationwide protest on December 14. They will also “gherao” BJP ministers and boycott party leaders across the country.
Agriculture Minister: I would like to urge the farmers that if they want to discuss our proposal, they should definitely come to us. We are ready for discussions.
Agriculture Minister: MSP has got nothing to do with these laws. They do not affect MSP at all. PM had I have explained to and assured the farmers that MSP will continue.
Agriculture Minister: It is being projected that the land of farmers will be occupied by industrialists. Contract farming has been going on for long in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab, Karnataka but there has never been such experience. Still, we have already made provision in the Act that agreement under these laws will only be between processors and farmers' produce. There is no provision for any lease or agreement over farmers' land. Law provides that if farmer and processor enter into an agreement and the type of crops is such that some infrastructure has to be set up on the farmer's land, then the processor will dismantle his infrastructure from there after the agreement concludes. If the processor doesn't do it, then the owner of that infrastructure will be the farmer himself. This has been provided in the law. (ANI)
Agriculture minister: Centre sent a proposal to farmers. They wanted that laws 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. During the talks, many farmers said that farm laws are invalid as agriculture is State subject and Centre can't frame these laws. We clarified, we have the right to make laws on trade and explained it to them. APMC and MSP are not affected by it.
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: Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar
Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar has started briefing on Farm Acts.
Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi today said Modi government is "sensitive" about the demands made by farmers and has addressed their main concerns in a "transparent" manner. He also said that most of the farmers were "satisfied" with the steps taken by the central government, and added that their interests were "safe and secure" in its hands. "The government is completely sensitive about the demands of farmers. That is why it has addressed their main concerns effectively and in a transparent manner. Most of the farmers are satisfied," Naqvi said. (PTI)
Senior Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath has hit out at the Centre over the three new farm laws, alleging that the Centre is trying to ruin the country. "The new agriculture laws brought by the Centre will exploit the farmers," Nath said. "This government is working aimlessly and it is going to ruin the entire country," he alleged. "The President gives suggestion to the central government. Now, it is for the central government to take a call. The government should try to understand the reality of the agriculture sector," Nath said in response to a query over opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Sharad Pawar, meeting President Ram Nath Kovind seeking repeal of the farm laws. "Our economy is agrarian and unless the farm sector grows strong financially, the economy will not improve," Nath added. (PTI)
Under the new central law, the farmer can take her produce to any place, to any corner of the country, or a buyer can come to her doorsteps (the non-APMC market). This is in addition to the APMC platform, the sanctity of which remains intact. No levies shall be charged on all such sales. So, the farmer could not have gotten a better deal. Yet, the central law is being portrayed as a ‘black law’ that will harm farmers’ interest. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
READ FULL STORY | Centre must not yield to ‘mandatory MSP’ demand
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav today said the farmers' protests is also a movement to restore democratic values and that people are 'emotionally connected' with it to 'save' democracy. Yadav's party has been backing the farmers' agitation against three new agri laws. 'The farmers' agitation is also a movement to restore the democratic values of India. There should be participation of general public in all decisions of the government...To save democracy, every citizen of the country is also becoming emotionally connected with the farmers' agitation,' he said. Akhilesh Yadav was yesterday detained by the police after party workers led by him broke through a security cordon to sit on a dharna in the heart of the city in support of agitating farmers. A case was later registered at Gautam Palli police station against Yadav and other SP workers for breach of peace and under the Epidemic Diseases Act in view of the Covid. (PTI)
All India Kisan Sabha Hanna Mollah says this is an insult to the Indian farmers. "The farmers are led by their own interests and do not bother about any other forces".
Maharashtra Minister Bacchu Kadu says last time union minister Danve made such a statement, we had gheraoed his house. "Now, the situation is such that we will have to enter his house and beat him up".
Faarmers protest in Punjab: Priests of Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) offer ardas (prayer) for the protesting farmers.
Former BJP ally, the Shiromani Akali Dal yesterday alleged that the Centre "proposals were nothing but delaying and diversionary tactics and tricks which have rightly been rejected by the farmers. In a tweet, former union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that 5 months' non-stop protests, 6 marathon meetings, 15 nights spent in chill on Delhi roads by Annadata pleading with GoI to withdraw Anti Farmer Acts but their pain goes unfelt! Centre packaged old wine in new bottle. Farmers have rightly rejected the proposal and SAD stands by them.
Reacting to a comment by Union Minister Raosaheb Danve that agitation was backed by China and Pakistan, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said that if a Union minister has information that China and Pakistan have a hand behind farmers agitation, then the Defence Minister should immediately conduct a surgical strike on China and Pakistan. The President, Prime Minister, Home Minister and Chiefs of the Armed Forces should discuss this issue seriously," he said. Danve had said that the ongoing protest in Delhi was not that of farmers. "China and Pakistan have a hand behind this".
The farmers said that there was nothing new in the Centre's proposal, and that it was "completely rejected" by the 'Sanyukta Kisan Committee'. The farmer leaders, who have been adamant on their demand to scrap the laws, said it was an "insult" to the farmers and they would intensify their agitation by blocking the Jaipur-Delhi and the Delhi-Agra expressways by Saturday, and escalate it to a nationwide protest on December 14. The farmers said that the new draft contained what had already been proposed to them by Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar in his previous meetings with farmer leaders. Now the agitating farmers have decided to block all highways to Delhi on December 14. They will also gherao district headquarters, and also BJP district offices across the country. The farmers have demanded that a law should be brought to give legal backing to the MSP.
The Centre said that an amendment can be made wherein state governments can register the traders operating outside state-run mandis. The states can also impose tax and cess as they used in APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) mandis on them. On fears about the scrapping of the Minimum Support Price and shifting of trade to private players, the Centre said it is ready to give a written assurance that the existing MSP will continue.
Farmers' protest against Farm Laws enters 15th day at Singhu border. Bharatiya Kisan Union's Manjeet Singh says that the government intends to weaken the farmers' movement but many more farmers are coming to Delhi to join the movement. "We appeal to the people of Delhi to support farmers."