Congress MPs demand withdrawal of agri-related Bills

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, Sept 17

Congress MPs from Punjab on Thursday staged a protest in front of Mahatma Gandhi statute in Parliament demanding withdrawal of the Bills replacing farmers’ related ordinances.

Congress MPs Ravneet Singh Bittu, Amar Singh, Jasbir Singh Gill and Gurjeet Singh Aujla burnt copies of the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill - 2020 and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill - 2020, accusing the BJP-led NDA government of compromising the interests of farmers by diluting the existing food grain procurement procedure and the MSP regime.

Gill and Aujla also wore black robes in opposition.

The robes read: “I am a farmer, a farm worker. Do not betray my interests.”

The Congress is opposing the farmer related ordinances and has demanded that the government take these back.

While Bittu said the BJP would be brought to dust and ashes if it persisted with anti-farmer laws, Gill said: “We will resist these Bills tooth and nail and urge all MPs to heed their conscience and vote against these Bills.”

Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury backed the protests and said: “All farmer organisations in Punjab and Haryana are demonstrating against the Bills and are out on the roads. We stand with them. We will do everything in our capacity to block these regressive legislations.”

Fatehgarh Saheb MP Amar Singh who was part of the committee which party chief Sonia Gandhi set up to articulate the Congress stand on 11 Bills replacing ordinances said the committee led by veteran P Chidambaram had warned against ordinances related to farmers.

Singh said the Bills in question would be detrimental to farmer interests and to the interests of agrarian states like Punjab.