Angry Indian farmers snub PM Modi, intensify protests
Farmers hold placards and shout slogans against Narendra Modi during a protest in Amritsar on Sunday. AFP
Tens of thousands of Indian farmers on Sunday intensified their protests against three new agricultural laws aimed at overhauling food grain procurement and pricing rules by allowing private companies direct access to the vast agrarian sector.
Angry farmers staged demonstrations near New Delhi after rejecting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assurances that the laws would double farmers’ income.
Six rounds of talks between government officials and farmer union leaders have failed to resolve the challenge faced by Modi’s government.
Farmers from various states including Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh continue to sit at the Delhi borders in protest against the three agricultural laws. The agitation is going to enter its third week that has also crippled the traffic situation in the National Capital Region.
“Hundreds of farmers will launch a tractor trolley march to New Delhi to voice our grievances against the new laws,” said Kamal Preet Singh Pannu, a leader of Sanyukta Kisan Andolan (United Farmers’ Protest), one of 30 groups against the laws.
“Government wants to discredit and crush our movement, but we will continue to protest peacefully,” Pannu said.
Local authorities increased security measures, deploying police and putting up barricades to prevent farmers from entering New Delhi in large numbers. Opposition parties and some senior economists have lent support to the protests.
“I’ve now studied India’s new farm bills & realise they are flawed and will be detrimental to farmers,” Kaushik Basu, a former chief economic adviser to the federal government, wrote on Twitter.
“Our agriculture regulation needs change, but the new laws will end up serving corporate interests more than farmers. Hats off to the sensibility & moral strength of India’s farmers,” Basu said.
The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) on Sunday clarified that it had not sent mails to any particular community, amid reports in a section of media that the government is reaching out to Sikh farmers via emails from the Railways arm.
“It may be informed to all that the comments of IRCTC have not been quoted correctly and the mails have been sent to all irrespective any particular community... This is not the first instance. Earlier also such activities have been undertaken by IRCTC to promote government welfare schemes in the public interest,” it said in a statement.
According to media reports, the IRCTC sent out nearly two crore (20 million) emails between Dec.8 and Dec.12 to its customers listing 13 decisions taken by Modi to support the Sikh community, amidst farmers’ protest. The emails were sent with an attachment of 47 pages titled “PM Modi and his government’s special relationship with Sikhs.”
Agencies
