India
Farmer Protests: BJP ‘real Tukde Tukde Gang’ of India, says Sukhbir Singh Badal
New Delhi: Amid protests by farmers in outskirts of Delhi demanding revocation of three farm laws passed by the Parliament of India this year in September, Shiromani Akali Dal President and former Dy CM of Punjab, Sukhbir Singh Badal, said that BJP is the real “TukdeTukdeGang” in the country and that it has “smashed national unity into pieces”.
BJP is the real #TukdeTukdeGang in the country. It has smashed national unity to pieces,shamelessly inciting Hindus against Muslims & now desperate setting peace loving Punjabi Hindus against their Sikh brethren esp #farmers. They're pushing patriotic Punjab into communal flames. pic.twitter.com/7adwVmoDgj
— Sukhbir Singh Badal (@officeofssbadal) December 15, 2020
Badal, who is also a member of parliament, accused BJP of “shamelessly inciting Hindus against Muslims” and said that the party is now desperate setting peace-loving Punjabi Hindus against their Sikh brethren especially farmers. “They’re pushing patriotic Punjab into communal flames,” he said.
Pertinently, anger against the GoI has been simmering since the month of September when the parliament of India passed three farm laws. Since past many weeks, thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have been marching toward the New Delhi and are nearing the borders.
After failing to garner support from their respective state governments, the farmers have decided to mount pressure on the GoI, due to which they are coming to Delhi.
In UP and Haryana, BJP led governments have failed to convince farmers, however, governments of Rajasthan and Punjab have extended full support to their agitation.
Farmers want GoI to either withdraw the three legislations or guarantee them the minimum support price (MSP) for their crops by introducing a new law.
Gurnam Singh Chaduni is leading the protestors from Haryana. Gurnam had contested the 2019 Assembly elections from Ladwa constituency in Kurukshetra district but got only 1,307 votes. However, he was quite active in raising farmers’ issues and led several protests across the state.
Apart from Gurnam, several national and regional farm unions, comprising many leaders, have joined hands under the umbrella banner of Samyukt Kisan Morcha.
As farmers do not accept the three new legislations — The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation); The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance; and Farm Services and The Essential Commodities (Amendment), they believe the laws will open agricultural sale and marketing outside the notified Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandis for farmers, remove the barriers to inter-state trade, and provide a framework for electronic trading of agricultural produce.
Since the state governments will not be able to collect market fee, cess or levy for trade outside the APMC markets, farmers believe the laws will gradually end the mandi system and leave farmers at the mercy of corporates.
They are also of the opinion that dismantling the mandi system will bring an end to the assured procurement of their crops at MSP. Similarly, farmers believe the price assurance legislation may offer protection to farmers against price exploitation, but will not prescribe the mechanism for price fixation.
Farmers are demanding the government guarantee MSP in writing, or else the free hand given to private corporate houses will lead to their exploitation.
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