Former national general secretary of Communist Party of India Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy affirmed that withdrawing the three farm laws and the Electricity Act are the only ways before the Central government to convince the farmer groups on the Delhi border to withdraw their protest.
Mr. Sudharkar Reddy spoke at a press conference on the sidelines of the ongoing National Council meeting of the CPI, in place of the incumbent national general secretary D.Raja who had to be shifted to hospital midway through the meeting due to indisposition.
Mr. Sudhakar Reddy alleged conspiracy behind the violent turn of the farmers’ protest, and sought to know how tractors could reach the Red Fort when over 6,000 policemen were guarding the roads.
He also questioned how TV channels came to know about the change in timings of tractors rally from 11 a.m. to 6 a.m. on January 26, and why all the channels chose to show only the developments at the Red Fort instead of the rally with one lakh tractors.
Also lambasting the Central government for neglecting the spread of COVID-19, Mr. Sudhakar Reddy said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should own responsibility for it. The country is in severe economic crisis as result of the COVID-19 fallout, and the Centre should take measures in the upcoming Budget to alleviate the situation for the unemployed, migrant labourers, and poor vendors, he demanded.
Farmers’ issues should be discussed across the table and resolved with commitment, he said.
General secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha Atul Anjan said the farmers’ struggle will continue till the three anti-farmer laws are scrapped, and the agricultural produce of all kinds is brought under minimum support price. The remaining demands may be discussed by way of a committee in which farmers’ organisations are members.
Mr. Anjan also deprecated the Centre for endangering communal harmony and national integrity, for economic crisis and unemployment of crores of people, rapid privatisation of the public sector units and airports, and export loss of USD15.9 billion in one year.
He questioned the rationale behind Uttar Pradesh government’s Public Works Department opening a bank account for donations to construct Ram temple in Ayodhya.
CPI Parliamentary Party leader Binoy Viswam said this is the first time 10 opposition parties have come together to boycott the President’s speech in Parliament protesting against the farm laws. He vowed that the Left parties in the country will stand by people, and it is up to the other political alliances in the country, including those in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, to decide which side they are on. Alleging that the Central government is run by big corporates, Mr. Viswam said while people faced untold hardships during COVID-19 times, profits of the multinational and corporate companies rose by 35 %.
AITUC general secretary Amarjeet Kaur and CPI national secretary K. Narayana too spoke at the press conference.
