“Death Warrant For Farmers”: Congress After Farms Bills Tabled In Rajya Sabha

“Farmers are not illiterate. They understand that this is a way to do away with MSP, Congress MP Pratap Singh Bajwa said.

Congress MP Pratap Singh Bajwa, responding to the two farm bills tabled in Rajya Sabha today amid protests across the country, called the bills “an attack on farmers’ soul” and said his party would not sign “death warrant for farmers”.

“Congress party rejects this bill… We will not sign on this death warrant of farmers… Farmers don’t want this benefit that you claim are for them, then why are you trying to force feed them,” the Congress MP said, adding that all farmers, majorly from Punjab and Haryana, think these bills are attack on their soul.

“Farmers are not illiterate. They understand that this is a way to do away with MSP (Minimum Support Price). Once this is passed, corporate houses will take over farmlands,” Mr Bajwa said. Referring to these bills, Bajwa also said that that trade was how the East India Company and the Portuguese invaded India.

Stressing that agriculture and markets are state subjects, Bajwa added these bills are against the spirit of federal cooperative.

Earlier, Shiromani Akali Dal leader and food processing minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned from the ministry.

Her decision came on the wheels of mounting anger in Punjab and Haryana farmers against the 3 bills related to agriculture and farming. Punjab farmers form a large chunk of Shiromani Akali Dal’s vote bank. After her resignation, she conducted a press conference in which she said that the party stands with the farmers on the issue.

Opposition parties have been targeting the government over these reforms, blaming the government for opening up the markets for private players through these bills, which would result in denial of promised MSPs to the farmers.