Uttarakhand CM says farm bills for ‘one nation one market’, Opposition protests
Uttarakhand CM says the farm reform bills will have two major benefits for farmers.
Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Thursday said the three farm bills, passed by the Parliament during the Monsoon session, will strengthen the concept of ‘one nation one market’ and directly connect farmers with the market, eliminating the role of middlemen.
Rawat added that these bills will bring revolutionary changes in the lives of the farmers.
“Modi government has tried to aid farmers in two ways; if they want to sell their produce in (farmer markets) mandis, they will get a high MSP and if he wants to sell it outside the mandis, he can sell it anywhere at a good price and the government will provide him technical assistance in the process,” Rawat said, adding, “There will be no role of middlemen now.”
Rawat said the Narendra Modi government is pro-farmers and the people of the country know it well. “Some people are however, trying to mislead farmers and provoke them. Farmers will have to themselves understand these agrarian reforms. They very well know that Prime Minister Narendra Modi always thinks about their welfare,” he said.
Listing the steps taken by the central government for farmers, Rawat said MSP of various crops has been increased and recommendations of the Swaminathan report have been implemented by the government for the benefit of farmers
Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) state unit have announced a series of protests against these bills
Terming the bills as ‘anti-farmer’, Congress state unit president Pritam Singh, in a press conference here on Thursday, announced the calendar of protests in the state till October 31.
“We will start an online campaign Speak Up on September 26. Then on September 28, we have decided to take out a protest march from the party office in Dehradun to the governor’s house. On October 2, we will organise state-wide protests at district and assembly segment level. Between October 2 and October 31, we will start a signature campaign against these bills which will be then presented to the AICC (All India Congress Committee),” he said
The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020, were passed by both the Houses of Parliament during the monsoon session recently and await Presidential assent.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) state unit president SS Kaler said they have decided to continue protests against the anti-farmers bills in the state. “On Friday, to begin with, we will organise a major protest demonstration in the Sitarganj area of US Nagar. On Wednesday, we had staged a protest in Dehradun at a time when the one-day assembly session was underway,” he said.
Kaler added that his party will continue to fight for the cause of the farmers and hold regular interactions to seek their feedback.