Ahead of the next round of talks on Monday, Communist Party of India general secretary, D Raja, said the government must be sensitive towards the farmers and repeal the laws.
"The government should be sincere in its talks with the farmers. Parliament will be meeting soon and it can debate and bring a new law,"he said.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday said a government that ignores public sentiments in a democracy does not remain in power for long and described the Narendra Modi government as the first “arrogant regime in independent India that cannot see the pain and struggle of farmers”.
Ensuring profits for a select few capitalists has become the main agenda of the government, she alleged and reminded the Centre that “democracy means protecting the interest of farmers-workers”.
On the 39th day of the protests at Delhi’s Singhu border, Ms. Gandhi said in a statement the government should shun arrogance and unconditionally repeal the three farm laws to end the agitation.
“Just like fellow citizens, I am distressed to see the plight of our farmers who are protesting at Delhi’s borders for 39 days in this bone-chilling cold and rains to get their demands accepted,” she said.
The Congress leader alleged that more than 50 protesting farmers have died because of government apathy while a few ended their lives in protest. And yet it has neither melted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s heart nor any Minister had a comforting word to say to the families of those who died.
“After Independence, this is the first government that is filled with arrogance to such an extent that it is not only blind to the pain and struggle of common people but also those who feed the country. It seems ensuring profits for a handful of capitalists has become the principal agenda of this government.
“In a democracy, a government or a leader who ignores public sentiments cannot govern for long. It is now absolutely clear that the agitating farmers-workers will not kneel before this government’s policy of tire out the protesters and end the agitation.”
Asking the government to unconditionally repeal the farm laws, she said, “This is ‘rajdharma’ [duty of rulers] and a true tribute to the farmers who passed away. The Modi government should remember that the meaning of democracy is to protect the interests of farmers-workers.”
At a press briefing, the Congress alleged that the Modi government has refused to give a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) to farmers but has promised “guaranteed returns” to the Adani Agri Logistics Limited (AALL) after the Food Corporation of India signed an exclusive storage agreement with the AALL.
“The farmers don’t get guarantee for MSP but the Adani group gets it for 30 years and that too linked to inflation,” party spokesperson Gourav Vallabh said.
In a series of tweets, senior party leader Anand Sharma said it’s high time the Supreme Court has intervened.
“High time that the Supreme Court makes an effective intervention as the custodian of the Constitution. It’s over two weeks since it gave a glimmer of hope by promising to set up an impartial panel for negotiations. The farm laws be suspended until an acceptable solution is reached and the petitions by the State governments and the farmers challenging the constitutionality of farm laws are decided. Kicking the bucket down the road only hurts the course of justice,” Mr. Sharma said.
Ahead of the next round of talks on Monday, CPI general secretary D. Raja said the government must be sensitive towards the farmers and repeal the laws.
\“The government should be sincere in its talks with the farmers. Parliament will be meeting soon and it can debate and bring a new law,” he said.
