Farmers Take to Streets Against Controversial Farm Bills
Ronak Chhabra; Sabrangindia
25 Sept. 2020: Farmers across the country took to the streets on Friday farmers against the controversial farm Bills passed by voice vote in Rajya Sabha, protesting against policies that seek to serve corporate interests. The protests brought economic activities to a standstill in in at least two state — Punjab and Haryana – while protests were also held in other states such as Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh among others.
At the call of the All Indian Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), an umbrella of over 250 farmer organisations and several other farm bodies, labour organisations and federations, demonstrations and road blockades were reported where in the farmers demanded that the three farm Bills – which they fear would usher in corporatisation of agriculture – be scrapped or that a separate legislation to make Minimum Support Price (MSP) a legal right be enacted by the Centre.
On Friday, roads including the National Highways were blocked with tractor rallies across the districts in Punjab and Haryana – the richest agriculture states which are the forefront of the farmers’ stir.
“What Parliament can do, streets can undo,” was the slogan that resounded, shared by many on social media throughout the day.
Almost all shops remained shuttered down in both the states. Farmers led by their respective outfits stay put on rail tracks near multiple spots including in Punjab’s Devidaspur village in Amritsar, Ferozpur; and, in Haryana’s Sudhail village in Yamuna nagar district.
News agency PTI reported railway authorities informing suspension of 14 pairs of special trains in Punjab from September 24 to 26. Bus services also remained shut on Friday in both the states.
The demonstrations in Punjab and Haryana also saw participation by arhtiyas (agent commissions), who carried their demand of ensuring a level-playing field against big private traders and agriculture companies, in the backdrop of the later now being envisaged as playing a more direct role in agriculture marketing.
Ravinder Singh Cheema, state president, Punjab Arhtiya Association, said that any leader who supports the farm bills will be “socially boycotted.” In the wake of it, “lists” are ostensibly being circulated where MPs, MLAs, belonging to BJP are finding mentioning.
Farmers came out in protest in at least 5,000 sites across the country, Ashutosh, media head, AIKSCC, informed Newsclick.
Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Rasjasthan witnessed widespread bandhs. According to AIKSCC, many leaders were arrested in these states. In Karnataka, farmers groups courted arrest after blocking the busy Tumkur road near Yeshwanthpur in Bengaluru. In Haryana, photos of farmers observing sit-ins on the road, forming human chains circulated on social media. Meanwhile, Punjab’s farmers erected temporary shades on railway tracks while they blocked the trains. On the roads, traffic police supported the farmers’ efforts by diverting traffic as the peasants continued their movement.
On the other hand, Bihar protesters had to fend off a group of armed men who attacked the demonsrators with chants of “Narendra Modi Zindabad!”
Similarly, thousands of farmers blocked the Mumbai Delhi Highway near Maharashtra’s Dahanu. Over 50,000 pesants in 21 districts blocked national and state highways across the state. All over India, Central Trade Unions, workers organisations, students, women organisations, Dalits and Adivasis marched on the streets despite the threat of COVID-19, sweltering heat and heavy rains.
In West Bengal, the National Highway was blocked at 92 places while State Highways were blocked at 89 places. According to farmer organisations, more than six lakh people participated in West Bengal alone.
In the south, Tamil Nadu witnessed protests in hundreds of spots. As per reports, over 100 protesters were arrested during “rail roko” demonstrations at Villupuram. Similarly, AIKSCC TN Coordinator, K Balakrishnan, AIKS (CPM) State Secretary Shanmugam, AIKKMS All India Vice-President Dr Rengasamy were arrested in the afternoon.
Kerala’s protesters observed Dharna and protests in front of 250 Central Government offices and many places across the State. The AIKS Vice President S. Ramachandran Pillai inaugurated the protest in Trivandrum.
The Northeast states also made their voices heard as massive protests in Tripura braved police repression and attacks while protesters in Assam burnt mock papers as a sign of dissent. In most States the Highways were blocked. Northern railways even had to cancel trains due to agitations.
Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh witnessed spontaneous response from farmers and workers. Effigies of Narendra Modi and the Bills were burnt in numerous places.
In the national capital, a demonstration was organised at the Jantar Mantar by the leaders of central trade unions who pitched for workers and farmers to join hands against the policies of the Centre.
At the border points, Delhi Police reportedly maintained vigil to prevent entry of farmers’ rallies in the city. Delhi-Noida expressway and Delhi-Meerut highway at Ghaziabad, however, remained blocked by the farmers, mainly led by Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU).
The outcry against the farm reforms also breathed new life into the opposition parties’ campaign in states such as Bihar, where assembly elections are due in the coming months. Leaders of CPI, CPM and CPI-ML along with INC and RJD, partaking in farmers’ protests, were seen as building a fight against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who has extended his support to the farm bills.
(Article is based on two reports, one by Ronak Chhabra in Newsclick, the other in Sabrangindia, both on 25 September 2020.)
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Editorial addition: Another report on the daylong bandh, “Farmers Protest Across India Against Anti-Farmer Laws” (25 Sept. 2020) published in Countercurrents says:
Protests have been going on in Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra among others much before the Bills were introduced in the Monsoon session of Parliament.
Opposition parties like the Congress, the RJD and the Trinamool, as well as 10 central trade unions, have voiced their support for the farmers.
In Punjab, a “complete shutdown” was called for by 31 farmers’ groups protesting under the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) banner. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh earlier said the Congress-led state government supports the farmers and no FIRs will be registered for violation of prohibitory orders. Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who resigned as Union Minister last week, joined protests in her constituency of Bathinda. The Akalis – long-time BJP allies – are said to be considering their ties with the ruling NDA. Apart from political leaders, Punjabi singers and actors also sat in on the protests. Sidhu Moosewala, a singer, said: “We will not stop our fight here. It will continue”.
As angry farmers occupied highways and shut down all non-essential traffic – the Punjab-Haryana border was sealed near Ambala – a key border crossing. The Delhi-Amritsar highway was blocked at several places by farmers from the BKU and the Revolutionary Marxist Party of India. Several of the farmers’ protests were noteworthy in that they refused to allow politicians to sit in with them. They criticised parties for only caring about votes – polls are due in Punjab next year and the Akalis count farmers as their key constituency.
The “rail roko” that began in Amritsar and Ferozepur districts yesterday continued today and has been extended till Tuesday (September 29). In addition, to the above two districts, tracks will be blocked in Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur and Jalalabad, the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Samiti said Friday evening. The group also hit out at BJP workers spreading “rumours” that the protesting farmers would engage in violence.
In Bengal farmers’ groups affiliated to Left parties took out rallies in some districts and blocked roads for some time. There were protests in the rural belts of Hooghly, Murshidabad, North 24 Parganas, Bankura and Nadia districts, among others. Some carried agricultural produce and shouted slogans against the PM and Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar. Farmers’ groups linked to the ruling Trinamool Congress also protested; some farmers burned copies of the bill and effigies of Prime Minister Modi.
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Another article in Countercurrents by Harsh Thakor, “Punjab Bandh: Masses of Punjab write a new chapter in resistance against farm reform bills” points out that several people’s organisations across Punjab mobilised and extended support to the farmers agitation and Bharat Bandh call for September 25. The article says that it was “one of the most impactful bandhs ever carried out in the history of Punjab”:
The atmosphere was reminiscent of lightning engulfing every area comprising every part of the society. What was remarkable was how every section of the society was galvanised to the optimum be it peasants, agricultural labourers, teachers, students, youth, women or industrial workers…. The-unity of so many revolutionary and progressive streams was also heartening. An adjective is hard to find to do complete justice to the intensity of the protestors whether obstructing the traffic or blocking the rail roads.
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Farm Bills: UP Sees Massive Response to Protest Call; Several Highways Blocked
Abdul Alim Jafri
25 September 2020: Buses were stopped and several highways blocked briefly in Uttar Pradesh while shops downed shutters in some Northern districts during a protest call by several farmer orgnaisations on Friday against the three controversial farm Bills passed by Parliament by voice vote.
Several farmers’ union including Bhartiya Kisan Union, Bhartiya Kisan Union (Bhanu group), Mazdoor Kisan Manch, Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ambawata), Bhartiya Kisan Sabha and Bhartiya Kisan Mahasabha joined hands for the nationwide protest call by the All Indian Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), an umbrella of over 250 farmer organisations, demanding the withdrawal of the “anti-people” Bills.
Hundreds of farmers gathered on a key road in Noida in Uttar Pradesh in a protest demonstration, prompting deployment of police in riot gear that kept them from proceeding toward Delhi. The farmers were at the Noida Gate in Sector 14A near Chilla, at the UP-Delhi border, where they were stopped by the Gautam Buddh Nagar police around 12 noon, officials said.
Farmers under BKU’s banner said the Bills passed during the just-concluded Monsoon session were “anti-farmer” and would serve corporate interests. Several farmers from Meerut, Bijnor, Shravasti, Muzaffarnagar, Sambhal, Shamli, Saharanpur, Ghaziabad, Haridwar, Shahjahanpur, Varanasi and Gorakhpur joined the protest and blocked several national highways, including the Ayodhya-Lucknow highway, Delhi-Meerut highway and the Agra-Delhi highway. All vehicular traffic was stopped, except ambulances and other emergency vehicles.
Various images on social media showed protesters with yellow and green flags sitting on the roadside with placards and hookahs.
(Article courtesy: Newsclick.)
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Maharashtra: Sensing Farmers’ Anger, MVA to not Implement Farm Bills in State
Amey Tirodkar
26 Sept. 2020: As was the case across most of the country, Maharashtra also witnessed a widespread agitation by farmers against the Farm Bills on Friday. Various farmers’ organisations, including the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS) and others led the protest. North Maharashtra, Western Maharashtra and the regions of Marathwada and Vidarbha witnessed agitations in all districts. Sensing the anger and the firm opposition to the bills, the Maharashtra decided to score political points and declared that it would not implement them in the state.
“Farmers’ organisations are against the bills. The NCP too has opposed the bills. There was no need to pass these bills in such a hasty manner. We are not going to implement it in Maharashtra. We will also hold discussions with all stakeholders including experts, farmers, farmers’ leaders and those who support the bills,” deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said in Pune on Friday.
The protests on Friday attracted large crowds, with AIKS’ Dr. Ajit Nawale claiming that almost 50,000 workers from the organisation were out on the roads in protest. “The nationwide protest was highly successful in Maharashtra. The agitation took place in 21 districts where more than 50 thousand farmers participated. This is just a start. If the Modi government doesn’t withdraw the bills, the state will see bigger agitations that this,” Nawale added.
(Article courtesy: Newsclick.)
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Another report in Sabrangindia, “Farmers’ stand resolute, block Maharashtra’s expressway”, says (26 Sep 2020) :
Nearly 10,000 members of various rights organisations blocked the Ahmedabad Highway to participate in the nationwide “Rasta roko” protest on September 25 amidst rain, and the impending threat of coronavirus.
Members of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and the Janwadi Mahila Sanghatana (JMS) blocked the highway despite warning from the police. The group had come to the protest spot from Dahanu, Charota and Thane-Palghar districts to chant slogans in support of farmers.
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TN Opposition Parties Oppose Farm Bills, Demand Legal Struggle Against Bills
Neelambaran A.
28 Sept. 2020: The Secular Democratic Front (SDF) in Tamil Nadu held huge protests across the state today (September 28), against the farm bills recently passed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government. The united protest led by the principal opposition party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) saw massive participation in reportedly around 3,500 centres, including rural areas.
The protest today was preceded by massive road blockade by various farmers organisations on September 25, which was called on by the All India Coordination Committee of Farmers’ Associations.
(Article courtesy: Newsclick.)
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Farmers Protest Across Karnataka Against Changes in Land Reforms Act, APMC Act
Courtesy: PTI
28 Sept. 2020: A day-long bandh called for by various farmers’ organisations and trade unions in Karnataka on Monday received a warm response from people from all walks of life. More than 108 organisations were part of the bandh which was called in protest against the new land reforms Act and the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMC) amendment Act introduced by the Yediyurappa government.
The dawn-to-dusk bandh call has been supported by several pro-Kannada, Left and other outfits aside from the opposition Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular), which had opposed the amendments in the state assembly. The call was also backed by several labour organisations which are protesting against amendments to certain labour laws during a brief assembly session which concluded on Saturday.
Pro-farmer organisations backed by a number of other social and political outfits on Monday staged protests across Karnataka over the amendments to the APMC and Land Reforms Act.
The amendment to the KLR Act lifts restrictions on purchasing agricultural land and enables any individual to purchase it.
Earlier, the law permitted only the farmers to purchase agricultural land in the state.
The repeal of certain provisions in the APMC Act through an amendment allows private players to directly purchase agriculture produce from farmers, which was prohibited earlier.
The protesters alleged that these laws will ruin the agriculture sector as people with moneybags will purchase agricultural land to convert their black money into white and turn agriculture land into real estate business.
The farmers alleged that the amendment to the APMC Act will deprive them of the minimum support price and enable multinational companies and big corporate houses to directly procure produce at their rates.
The call for a bandh given by the Karnataka Raitha Sangha (Karnataka Farmers’ Association) and other farmer organisations is supported by the Congress, JD(S), Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) and the Left parties.
The protests were staged at important locations in Bengaluru, Ramanagara, Mandya, Mysuru, Chamarajanagara, Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Tumakuru, Ballari, Raichur, Chitradurga, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Vijayapura, Bagalkote, Bidar, Belagavi, Uttara Kannada, Udupi, Dharwad and Davangere among others.
Ignoring the coronavirus fear, farmers came on the roads in groups, raised slogans, took out bike rallies in protest on the road and staged sit-in demonstrations.
At many places, the demonstrators courted arrest.
In Bengaluru, farmers and KRV members including its chief T A Narayana Gowda took out a rally and tried to stop buses when they were arrested.
Protests were held at various places including Mysuru Bank circle, Town Hall, Yelahanka and Ballari Road in the city.
The Congress, which has extended support to the protests, said it will stage a demonstration in front of its office on Race Course Road in Bengaluru.
(Article courtesy: Newsclick.)
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Delhi Chalo Call, Social Boycott of BJP Leaders: Farmers to Intensify Protests Against Reforms
Ronak Chhabra
29 Sept. 2020: The farmers are going to intensify their resistance against the implementation of agriculture reforms on the ground in days to come, an umbrella farmers body representing over 250 organisations across the country resolved on Tuesday, September 29, while presenting its protest action plan which includes, above all, a march to the national capital.
A “Delhi Chalo” call for November 26 and 27 has been given by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), which is set to witness participation from farmers across the country who have been up in arms against the Centre for legislating three farm bills that are feared to open up the agriculture sector to the vagaries of free-market forces.
The decision is part of farmers’ bodies intensifying their agitation, against what they call “black anti-farmer laws”. Only few days ago, on September 25, slogans reverberated across the country and economic activities were brought to a complete halt in at least two states – Punjab and Haryana – as part of a bandh called by AIKSCC.
“What we saw on (September) 25th was only a trailer. The country, along with those who are bringing a company raj are going to witness a historic movement led by the farmers,” Yogendra Yadav, a national executive member of the AIKSCC, said while speaking at a press conference.
Held in Press Club of India in New Delhi on Tuesday, the conference was also attended by other office bearers of the farmers’ body.
Among others, the umbrella body also called for farmers countrywide to take a pledge on October 2 – the day marking the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi – for social boycott of political leaders belonging to BJP, along with parties who have not yet opposed the farm legislations.
Farmers will also observe October 14 as “MSP Adhikar Diwas” in a bid to expose lies of the Centre with regards to the crop support prices.
These, along with the protests that are planned at state levels, will “culminate in a National Protest on 26th & 27th November in Delhi,” the body said in a press statement, adding “it will not rest,” till the Centre withdraws its “inhuman assault on farmers future and livelihood.”
Currently, a ‘rail roko’ agitation by the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee in Punjab has entered the sixth day on Tuesday. Members of the committee are squatting on rail tracks in protest, who are set to be joined by other farmers’ organisations in the state from October 1 in blocking trains for an indefinite period.
In Haryana, after braving against police’s brutal baton charge and ensuring a total bandh, a call has been given for October 6 to gherao the residence of Haryana’s Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala at Sirsa. In the wake of farmers’ protest, Chautala, whose party Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) is in alliance with the ruling BJP in the state, has found himself in a tough position.
The farmers are demanding him to resign from his position, even more so after Harsimrat Kaur Badal, a Shiromani Akali Dal leader, submitted her resignation from the Union Cabinet after pressure from farmers’ group in her state, Punjab.
Both Punjab and Haryana – being also the richest agriculture dependent states in the country – are at the forefront of the farmers’ stir.
Other states, prominently including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and western Uttar Pradesh, will also see spontaneous farmers’ protest, relay hunger strikes among others in the coming days, AIKSCC informed.
At the heart of the farmers’ protest is the demand to bring about a legislation that will guarantee crop MSPs and criminalise sales below it, Yadav told the press.
Hannan Mollah, working group member, AIKSCC, while addressing the press, expressed his anguish over how “the Centre is not listening to the protestors,” and going ahead with its reforms.
That being the case, “the need now is to resist, and no more just protest, what they (the central government) have decided,” Mollah, also general secretary of All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), said.
The Centre led by Narendra Modi had locked horns with the farmers’ community, especially those with sizeable land holding, ever since it brought the agriculture reforms in the form of ordinances in June this year.
The recently concluded Parliament session saw the passage of the three bills – replacing those ordinances – amid much of Opposition’s uproar. At least 18 of them have now written to President Ram Nath Kovind, urging him to not grant his assent to the bills.
Meanwhile, the AIKSCC has also asked the state governments of opposition parties to devise legal ways to ensure that the bills are not implemented in their respective states.
(Article courtesy: Newsclick.)
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Four States Gear Up to Resist ‘Anti-Farmer’ Bills
Courtesy: Sabrangindia
26 Sept. 2020: While the Centre remains adamant on its plan to go forward with the anti-farmer Bills that have received widespread Opposition parties for the cause of farmers, state governments have decided to act in favour of marginalised farmers. Three days ago Kerala started contemplating a legal challenge in the Supreme Court, and yesterday, Rajasthan, Punjab and Maharashtra spoke out.
On the morning of protests on Friday, Punjab followed the footsteps of Rajasthan in taking immediate steps to secure the state government’s control on procurement and pricing.
Shortly after the nationwide farmers protest on September 25, Maharashtra government said that it would not allow the three agriculture Bills – the Farmer’s Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill – to be implemented, said a Rediff report. On the day of the protest, Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar said in Pune that the NCP and other parties are opposed to the new bills. He added that a dharna agitation will be held on October 2 in the state.
Days after Parliament passed the three agriculture-related ordinances to regulate out-of-mandi transactions and provide a framework for contract farming, and the amended Essential Commodities Act, some states have started guarding their turf, to limit revenue loss on account of off-mandi transactions.
Kerala: Planning Board asked to study impact
Kerala reacted first, soon after the undemocratic manner in which the Bills were passed in Parliament last week-end followed by the arbitrary suspension of eight Members of Parliament. Calling for concerted efforts to oppose the controversial farm Bills, days before the nationwide protest, Kerala’s Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar said that the Kerala government had sought advice from it’s legal department on the feasibility of challenging them in the Supreme Court. Kerala government decision was taken at the September 23 cabinet meeting.
The state government has asked the Planning Board to study their impact on various sectors, such as agriculture, fisheries, labour, animal husbandry and dairy development, Sunil Kumar told the media. The Planning Board has been directed to submit its report by September 30. He also suggested that the Kerala government would seek the cooperation of like-minded States, such as Punjab, in opposing the Centre’s “unilateral decision”. Kerala goes to the polls soon. Though ‘Agriculture, including agricultural education and research, protection against pests and prevention of plant diseases’ falls in the State List as per the Seventh Schedule, the Centre neither discussed the Bills with the States nor heeded their concerns, he said. The legislation serve only the interests of corporates, Mr. Sunil Kumar added.
Meanwhile, Kerala is moving to introduce an alternative mechanism to strengthen the agriculture sector using the primary agriculture co-operative societies and with the support of the Departments of Cooperation and Industries, he said.
Such support for the farmers from the south is particularly significant because Kerala does not have an APMC system. Thus, Kerala’s official support to the farmers counters the pro-Bill argument that the opposition is only limited in APMC-states such as Punjab and Haryana.
Rajasthan, Punjab take control of Mandis
Last month, Rajasthan had acted. The state had passed an order late in August 2020 designating all warehouses of Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state warehousing corporation as mandis, thereby retaining its powers to charge mandi fees. The order was seen by many as a move to neutralise the impact of the Centre’s ordinance designating all out-of-mandi areas, including warehouses and godowns, as trade zones where taxes could not be levied. According to the latest report of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), Rajasthan charged 3.6 per cent as mandi fees and other charges — the third-highest among major wheat procurement states of India.
The Rajasthan government has explored this loophole in the legislation, and declared all FCI and state warehouses mandis, so all transactions taking place in these would be eligible for state taxes.
The Rajasthan government had earlier expressed apprehensions about the impact of these new laws on state policies. On September 21, Revenue Minister Harish Chaudhary and Transport Minister Pratap Singh Khachariawas had told the media that the “anti-farmer Bills,” brought in a hurry, deprive farmers of the bonus on MSP. Last month, Rajasthan had declared all warehouses of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) and the Rajasthan State Warehousing Corporation (RSWC) as procurement centres under the APMC Act.
Punjab
Further north, Punjab government said they were giving serious thought to amending the state’s APMC Act and declaring the whole of Punjab as a Principal Mandi Yard. According to reports, the government believes such an amendment will circumvent the changes in the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill. Declaring ‘mandi yards’ would mean that any procurement outside government ambit would become illegal thus ensuring MSO to farmers and Mandi fees to the state. On September 25 reports suggest that Punjab, the largest contributor of wheat and rice to India’s central pool, might also be looking at amending its Mandi Act to declare the entire state a Principal Market Yard. This would nullify the central law prohibiting imposition of any tax or cess on out-of-mandi transactions.
The central legislation defines a ‘trade area’ as any area outside of mandis notified under the state Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act, including private market yards, private market sub-yards, direct marketing collection centres, private farmer-consumer market yards managed by persons holding any licence, as well as cold storage, silos and warehouses notified as marketplaces under the state APMC Acts. The central legislation clarifies that the definition of a ‘trade area’, where central provisions will apply, will be all areas other than the ones mentioned above. The Rajasthan government has explored this loophole in the legislation and declared all FCI and state warehouses mandis, so all transactions taking place in these would be eligible for state taxes.
Now, if the entire state is declared a Principal Market Yard, the central law would not apply anywhere in the state. And if FCI continues to procure from the state, it will continue to pay tax at a high 8.5 per cent rate on wheat and rice.
These taxes, according to some estimates, earn Punjab over Rs 5,000 crore annually, given the sheer amount of wheat and rice procured from the state every year.
Maharashtra
Pawar acknowledged farmers’ arguments that the laws were not beneficial to them and said that the state government will ensure that such laws are not implemented. He also said that his government had sought legal advice in case the matter went to the court.
Speaking about the Bills, the Deputy Chief Minister said that the new bills scrap the APMC system and hand over the marketing system to traders. He alleged that this would lead to scrapping of labour protection laws as farmers will not get the Minimum Support Price (MSP.)
