New Delhi: Since the introduction of three bills related to agriculture reform in the Lok Sabha, farmers across the country have opened a front against the central government. The Modi government also wants this bill to be made law during the coronary period. Despite the displeasure of some alliance partners, the BJP has put its strength behind the three Bills. However, in this only the RSS-linked farmer organization- Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) has turned against the Center. BKS general secretary Badri Narayan Chaudhary has said that this bill is going to benefit industrialists and this is going to make the lives of farmers more difficult.
In an interview, Chaudhary said that the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh is not opposed to any reform. But the farmers have genuine concerns over these bills. He told that now anyone who has a PAN card can become a merchant and deal directly with the farmer. The government should enact such a law that it can be decided that when its product is purchased, it will be paid at the same time or the government will become the guarantor of its payment.
Chaudhary said that 80 percent of the farmers in the country are small or middle class. Therefore, the slogan of one India-one market does not work for them. This works for either large industries or large farmers only. He said that the NDA government is talking about 22 thousand new mandis from the last two budgets, where are they. It is very unfortunate that the ministries of agriculture and food are being run by bureaucrats who have no idea of the ground reality.
The Secretary General of BKS said that in the current format, this Bill will not help farmers. 50 thousand farmers across the country have written to the PM saying that they do not want this law in its present form. Some units of the Kisan Union have also passed proposals against it at the village level. We have also talked to other organizations associated with the RSS and big leaders of the BJP.
