New Delhi: The farmers’ meeting with the Union minister for agriculture today ended abruptly. The meeting was attended by 30 protesting farmers’ groups from Punjab over the contentious farm bills. The meeting was ended as Union minister for agriculture Narendra Singh Tomar failed to attend it. The farmers’ group walked off by tearing farm bills documents outside the ministry.
After several calls made by the Centre for the meeting farmers’ groups finally agreed yesterday that they would attend but all went in vain as the Union minister for agriculture was absent. However, the meeting was attended by the agriculture secretary, but the farmers demanded the presence of the minister. The farmers started raising slogans inside the ministry and tore up copies of the contentious farm laws and made it clear that agitation against the new laws will continue.
The nationwide protest had erupted following the newly assed farmers bills. The farmers’ groups for months have been agitating over the new farm bills. They are backed by the opposition parties, including the Congress; they have been demanding that the new laws be scrapped. The biggest of these groups, the Bharatiya Kisan Union, which did not attend yesterday’s meeting, had also decided to join forces at today’s talks.
As per the 3 new farm laws, it allows farmers to sell produce anywhere in the country and whomsoever they want to, including big corporates, with this the farmers are not okay. The farmer believes that they won’t receive Minimum Support Price for their produce if the agricultural wholesale APMC markets are eliminated and left at the mercy of the corporates.
The Centre claims the bills to be in favour of farmers as it will free the farmers from the clutches of the middlemen and usher in new farming technology which will prove to be a big ticket for farm sector reforms.