The Bhartiya Kisan Union on Friday approached the Supreme Court against the three agriculture laws enacted by the government earlier this year, alleging the legislation will make them vulnerable to corporate greed, according to news agency ANI.
The move comes two days after farmers’ unions rejected the Centre’s proposal by saying there was nothing new and that they were going to continue their protest against the agricultural laws that liberalise farm trade. The farmers agitating near the national capital have called for a nationwide protest on December 14 and said that they will block the Delhi-Jaipur national highway by December 12.
To end the impasse over the contentious laws, the government had agreed to give a written assurance on continuing the Minimum Support Price (MSP), one of the main concerns raised by the protesters. It also tried to allay their fears over mandis (marketplace) and taking over of farmlands by big corporates. The farmers, however, have refused to budge and are demanding a complete rollback of the laws.
Earlier in the day, Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the Centre hasn’t yet received any communication from farmers’ unions regarding the proposal and added that he got to know about them rejecting it through the media. “Our proposal is with them (farmers). They discussed it but we have not received any reply from them. We came to know through media that they have rejected the proposal. Yesterday, I had said that if they want to, we can definitely talk about the proposal,” he told ANI.
Tomar added that he was hopeful of finding a solution and urged farmers to break the deadlock. “The government has sent them a proposal. If there is an objection over the provisions of an Act, the discussion is held over it,” he said, according to ANI.
The minister also highlighted the troubles that the people in and around Delhi are facing due to the thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, protesting along the borders of the national capital since November 26. “Agitation causes problems for the common people too. People of Delhi are facing troubles. So, they (farmers) should end their agitation in the interest of the common people and try to solve issues with the help of talks,” Tomar said.
The agriculture minister again assured the farmers that the new farm laws will prove to be beneficial for them and help them live a better life. “Laws made by the government have been formed after a lot of deliberation – to bring a change in the lives of farmers, to remove the injustice that was being done to them for years. It was done to ensure that farmers could live better lives and indulge in beneficial agriculture,” Tomar said.
While the Centre maintains the new farm laws will prove to be beneficial for the farmers and help them live a better life, the farmers hold that the legislation will hurt their incomes and leave them at the mercy of large corporations.
