Farmers have lost all faith in PM Modi-led govt: Rahul Gandhi

The former Congress president also shared a three-and-a-half-minute video speaking to farmers from several states via a video conference call.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Friday farmers do not trust the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as thousands of agriculturists participated in a ‘Bharat Bandh’ to protest the farm bills that were recently passed by Parliament.

Gandhi, who was hosting the talk, was heard asking farmers to explain how the new farm bills would affect them. Farmers were heard explaining their apprehensions regarding the minimum support price (MSP) and food procurement practices.(Twitter/Rahul Gandhi)

“One thing was clear after talking to the farmers - they do not have any faith in the Modi government. All our voices are also together with the loud voices of the peasant brothers and today the whole country is opposing these agricultural laws,” Gandhi’s tweet roughly translated from Hindi read.

The former Congress president also shared a three-and-a-half-minute video speaking to farmers from several states via a video conference call. Gandhi, who was hosting the talk, was heard asking farmers to explain how the new farm bills would affect them. Farmers were heard explaining their apprehensions regarding the minimum support price (MSP) and food procurement practices.

“A flawed GST destroyed MSMEs. The new agriculture laws will enslave our Farmers,” the Congress lawmaker from Kerala’s Wayanad had tweeted earlier in the day with a hashtag ISupportBharatBandh.

Farmers from Bihar, Maharashtra, Haryana and other states who joined Gandhi for the discussion also highlighted that they will have no recourse when private players, who they fear that the bills empower, take over the agricultural sector.

Farmer groups across the nation have called for strikes against the three bills passed by both the Houses of Parliament during the Covid-19 hit monsoon session.

The three bills which were passed are Farmer’s 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.

The Congress has announced it will stage marches in every state after which memorandums will be submitted to the respective governors on September 28 against these farm bills, which it says are against the interests of farmers and farm labourers.