Amidst opposition, the Parliament passed The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 on Saturday.
Defending the agri reform bills strongly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said “I said it earlier and I say it once again: the System of MSP will remain. the Government procurement will continue. We are here to serve our farmers. We will do everything possible to support them and ensure a better life for their coming generations”, Modi went on.
Despite such categorical statements from the Prime Minister there are some vested interests active to misguide farmers, say experts like Mohandas Pai and Anand Panagariya. TMC’s Derek Obrien invaded the well of the Rajya Sabha and tore ears of the rule book during Farmer Bills voting, speaker’s mike snatched amid pandemonium.
“Renegade MPs should be suspended for the remaining 3 days of the session which is likely to end on Wednesday”, demanded many. Farm Bills will unshackle farmers from monopolistic APMCs and will give them freedom of price discovery, say experts.
Former Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Anand Panagariya said “These are reforms economists have sought for one to two decades. So glad the opposition was unable to defeat them despite taking recourse to all kinds of spurious arguments.”
“Major farmer bodies have wholeheartedly welcomed the bills passed by Parliament to introduce path-breaking agricultural reforms although there is some resistance in Punjab and Haryana, which have influential middlemen and commission agents”, tweets Mohandas Pai, quoting the Economic Times.
The opposition is mostly coming from middlemen and unfortunately there are many politicians who have made a fortune by playing as middlemen between farmers and the market.
According to reports, Sukhvir Singh Badal of Akali Dal runs a company in the name of Sukhvir Agro which acted as a commission agent between farmers and FCI earning a huge commission in the process. It is his wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal, a minister in Modi’s cabinet who resigned in the wake of the passage of the bills calling it anti-farmer.
It is no secret that Supriya Sule, the daughter of Sharad Pawar showed astronomical figures as farm income in her election affidavit. Knowledgeable sources say the Pawar family controls a huge chunk of farm business in their area and earn hefty commission in the process. Their opposition to the Bills is understandable, they aver.
The bills are aimed at ensuring farmers get remunerative prices for their produce, and they are able to raise their incomes and livelihood status. Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar again clarified that the procurement at Minimum Support Price will continue, assurance for this has been given by Hon’ble Prime Minister himself, rate of MSP has been increased considerably during 2014-2020 and MSP for the coming Rabi season will be announced in the coming week.
The Union Agriculture Minister said that full protection has been ensured to farmers in these legislations.
