Not being backed by political groups, says farmers

New Delhi: Farmer groups continued to question the new farm laws even after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s detailed assurance on Friday, with their leaders at the protest sites along the Singhu and Tikri borders saying they were not being backed by political groups.

Bhartiya Kisan Union (Kadian) leader Harmeet Singh said at Singhu border the farm laws had numerous defects and there was no option but to repeal them. “Farmers know what is best for them; we do not need political backing. Will private traders procure foodgrains for public distribution as the government does on MSP (minimum support price)? Farmers would not be able to survive the private mandi system. We want PM Modi to hold a direct dialogue with us now – there is no point of setting up a smaller committee which we had already rejected,” he said.

At the Tikri border, Bhartiya Kisan Union Ekta (Ugrahan) chief Joginder Singh Ugrahan alleged that the government was continuously trying to defame the farmers’ protest by painting them as separatists and Maoists and discredit the agitation. “They are desperately trying to ensure that the farmer agitation does not spread to the BJP-ruled states now. We will not go home till the laws are repealed. The government is fixed on its tone on only amendments,” he said.


Meanwhile, a panel of farmers set up a day earlier at Singhu border under farmer leader Balbeer Singh Rajewal met lawyers to discuss the way ahead as the Supreme Court has asked for notices to be served to all major farmer groups before the next date of hearing.

All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), the CPI-M organisation, said the court ought to have stayed the laws and allowed the government and farmers to talk on a fixed agenda and try to resolve the issue. “The Union government brought the three farm Acts without adhering to any parliamentary democratic practices and norms. There was no parliamentary committee formed and no sitting took place with stakeholders including kisan organisations and state governments though agriculture, intra-state trade and industry comes under state list of the Constitution of India,” said the AIKS.

It further said that none of the farmer organisations had moved the Supreme Court seeking its intervention, since the issue needs to be resolved by the executive.