The Shiv Sena has accused the Narendra Modi government of employing a “trick of the trade” in the garb of laws to facilitate a corporate takeover of agriculture, warning this will destroy farmers across the country.
“These (new farm) laws have been carefully designed to benefit big industrialists. This is a trick of the trade, presented in the garb of laws,” the Sena’s chief spokesperson, Sanjay Raut, has written in party mouthpiece Saamana.
“This will destroy both the existence and self-esteem of farmers. A false propaganda has been launched that only farmers of Punjab and Haryana will be affected. These laws, brought by Modi as an agricultural reform, will mean the kabr-gah (burial ground) for farmers.”
Government supporters have been claiming the new farm laws would hurt only a small section of rich farmers from Punjab and Haryana while triggering a windfall for most farmers across the country.
Raju Shetti, farmer leader from Maharashtra who is part of the all-India coordination committee overseeing the ongoing movement, too contested the claim on Monday.
“If it is a movement only of farmers from Punjab and Haryana, what am I doing here?” Shetti told The Telegraph on Monday over the phone from the Singhu border, where thousands of farmers have gathered in protest for the past several days.
“There are hundreds of people from Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan and many other states. These laws are an attack on agriculture as a whole, the objective being to allow the corporate sector to capture farming.”
Shetti went on: “It is not surprising that BJP leaders and Modi bhakts are trying to conceal the truth about the black laws and our movement, and are spreading rumours and misconceptions.”
He asked how the Bharat Bandh could have been so successful, with demonstrations and shutdowns at more than 10,000 places in the country, if this was a Punjab-centric agitation.
“We understand the Modi government’s conspiracy. They want to create rifts. When farmers from Maharashtra want to join the protest at Delhi’s borders, the police in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh block them,” he said.
“The usual trains are not running and the special trains have no general compartments. How will the farmers reach Delhi? Farmers from as far as Karnataka and Tamil Nadu wanted to join the protest but the BJP governments stopped them.”
Raut wrote: “Maharashtra should understand the darker aspects of these (new farm) laws. Ordinary people will have difficulty understanding the complexities hidden in the details.
“The stock limit has been removed to allow hoarding. The government doesn’t want any limit on the stocking of food grain. What is the purpose? Why have Punjab’s farmers risen in protest? Because they have seen the gigantic silos built by the Adani group in Punjab. These are not like our godowns, these are a hundred times bigger.
“When farmers bring their new crop to the market, these corporate houses will artificially kill the demand by releasing their stored stuff and bring down prices. The farmers will have no option but to sell cheap. After that, prices will be jacked up at will.”
Raut added: “The farmers of Punjab know the reality of contract farming, too. They know… potato farmers were fleeced after some time, in violation of contracts…. They (companies) used the pretext of quality to whittle down prices.
“Then there is a provision that you can’t go to (civil) court. Farmers have to appeal to the SDM (sub-divisional magistrate). Then they can go to the DM. The DM’s peon will turn them away. Farmers will become helpless, (left at) the mercy of the big players.”
Raut went on to explain the problems that could arise if the Agricultural Produce Marketing Act was abolished, which many farmers fear it would be.
“Initially, private mandis (wholesale markets) will offer better prices and facilities. Gift vouchers of Reliance will be given along with higher prices. The farmers will sell their stuff there and the government mandis will vanish slowly,” he wrote.
“Once the government mandis are gone, the real game will begin.... One kilogram of maize flour is being sold at Rs 150 while maize is bought for Rs 7 a kilogram. These laws will render the farmers bankrupt. If the farmers lose this battle, the whole social system will collapse. Ministers will come and go but the country will be ruined if agriculture is destroyed.”