Srinagar, Dec 08 (KNO): In solidarity with the farmers protesting against anti-farmer bills passed by the BJP government, Jammu and Kashmir Kissan Tehreek members joined nation-wide Bharat Bandh and held protest rallies across Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.
While maintaining social distancing norms, activists of J&K Kisan Tehreek as per a statement issued to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), held demonstrations in Press Colony Srinagar and other areas of J&K to protest against the anti-farmer approach of the BJP government.
The bills were aimed to help the corporate agri-businesses at the cost of poor farmer’s hard work, they said. The central government must adhere to the democratic processes and norms and meet the legitimate demands of our Kisans-Annadatas.
While addressing the protest demonstration, General Secretary Kisan Tehreek Ghulam Nabi Malik said that these new agri-laws passed in the Parliament in a brazen anti-democratic manner preventing a structured discussion and voting, will threaten India’s food security, destroy Indian agriculture and our farmers, lay the basis for the abolishment of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) and mortgage Indian agriculture and our markets to the caprices of multinational agri-business corporates and domestic corporates.
He said these bills have pushed the farmers into a critical situation. If the ordinance had been in favour of the farmers the government would have discussed and revealed the contents of the bill to the nation. "These Acts will mean complete withdrawal of the Government from procurement and put farmers at the mercy of corporate companies. It is aimed to facilitate profiteering by big players like Adani Wilmar, Reliance, Walmart, Birla, ITC etc."
Malik added the Modi government is pushing through various neoliberal measures under the guise of the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign’. All the measures announced under its auspices for agriculture and rural infrastructures have actually given nothing much to the farmers. The Covid-19 pandemic has become a golden opportunity for the Modi government to push through anti-farmer and anti-worker legislations without any proper parliamentary scrutiny or discussion.
While condemning the BJP Government for its utter disregard for established Parliamentary procedures, federal principles, rights of States and farmers in the manner in which three anti-farmer Ordinances were pushed through without wide consultation, the protesters warned that their agitations will intensify unless the bills are repealed—(KNO)