Mangaluru: While President Kovind gave his assent to the three controversial farm bills yesterday setting the stage for their implementation, the Karnataka Bandh call given by like-minded organizations, received only tepid support in the city today the appointed day for the Bandh announced by the organizations supporting the call.
The protest venue was the Mini Vidhana Soudha. Farmer Unions; DYFI; CITU; Youth, Women and Labour organizations; Dalit organizations, the Congress, CPI(M), and JD(S) parties, among others came together as one to protest – they were keenly watched by the police to prevent any untoward law and order developments.
The protesters raised slogans against the central and state governments and condemned the Farm Bills as being ‘Anti-Farmer’ and a proxy method to support corporates taking over agriculture. The protests by around 31 farmers organizations have intensified in Punjab and Haryana.
The farmer organizations are protesting three bills passed are the “The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020” – essentially it the APMC dilution Ordinance; “The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020” – the hoard it and forget it ordinance; and “The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020”; the Contract Farming Ordinance.
The objective of the Bills is to double Farmer income by 2022, and free and create a free-market economy in the farm sector which hitherto had many limitations.
Essentially the bills (in the order in which they have been named above) seek to do three things:
– Allow farmers to trade their produce outside of the APMC directly from their farm gates and anywhere in India electronically or otherwise.
– Exempt most commodities from government control under the Essential Commodities Act
– Institutionalize Corporate Farming – This is besides the fact that anyone can now buy farmland (in Karnataka and many other states – you really don’t have to be a farmer.
All thee three bills were brought into force as ordinances and now made into law by ramming them through parliament without so much as a discussion let alone a referral to a select committee or the standing committee on agriculture.
Krishnappa Salian, leader of the District Farmers Association speaking to the media called the Central government a puppet in the hands of corporate investors. He said the bills have been without prior discussions, and this has severely affected the farmers. He went on to say, “We condemn the Modi led government for snatching away the rights of farmers. The Modi government has turned a blind eye towards the poor farmers. This Agricultural Bill will only protect the investors and multinational companies, and no one else. The Act will make the farmers quit agriculture. It should be noted that Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had taken oath in the name of farmers by wearing a green shawl, unfortunately now the government is standing against the farmers.”
Former Congress MLC Ivan D’Souza complimented like-minded organizations for joining the protest against the government’s handling of the Agricultural Bills. He too said that they were passed without prior discussions, which is absolutely unacceptable. He said that these bills are anti-farmer and pro-corporate and will destroy farming as we know it as well as the livelihood of the farmers. He asked rhetorically, “Why did Harsimrat Kaur Badal resign from the Modi cabinet if everything was okay with the Bills favoring the farmers? This clearly shows the lack of support for the Agricultural Bills in the Modi-led cabinet itself.”
District Hasiru Sene leaders Ravikirana Poonacha and Oswald Prakash Fernandes; District Congress Mahila Morcha President Shalet Pinto; J Balakrishna, Karunakara, Jayanthi Shetty; JD(S) leader Sumathi Hegde, Congress leaders Santhosh Kumar Shetty, Sadashiva Ullal, PV Mohan, among others were present in the protest.
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