CITU, Left parties in Himachal extend support to farmers’ protest

The Centre of Indian Trade Union (CITU), Himachal Kisan Sabha, Janwadi Mahila Samiti, Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), Students Federation of India (SFI)and Dalit Shoshan Mukti Manch on Thursday staged protests across Himachal Pradesh to support the farmers in their protest against the Centre’s three agriculture laws.

CITU state president Vijendra Mehra said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Haryana chief minister ML Khattar’s BJP governments are bent on crushing the farmers, which is highly condemnable. He described the BJP governments at the Centre and state as dictator.

He said suppressing the farmer’s movement has exposed the real face of both these BJP governments and now everyone knows they support the capitalists and big corporate houses.

Mehra added that the new laws will ruin agricultural institutions like APMC and end the minimum support price to encourage black marketing, hoarding and profiteering of agricultural products.

“All this is being done to benefit big corporate houses. Agricultural sector is in great crisis and instead of helping farmers, the Centre is bent on destroying them,” he said.

“Neither the agricultural budget and subsidies are being increased nor are farmers provided with agricultural equipments or waive off on loans,” he added.

“The recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission have been pending since the last two decades and are not being implemented. Therefore, it has become extremely important that the workers, farmers, women, youth, students, socially and economically weaker sections of the country unite and raise their voices against the government to stop implementation of policies that only benefit corporates and capitalists,” Mehra said.