Farmers reach out to other states through webinar

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 24

Fearing that the “propaganda machinery of the Centre” will succeed in convincing people across the country that the protest in Delhi was only for a cause that affects Punjab and Haryana farmers, a joint forum of the agitating farmers on Thursday launched an outreach programme.

Through a webinar, attended by thousands of people in India and abroad, farm leaders strategically tried to address the public, saying the protest was not just about the doing away with the Agriculture Produce and Market Committees, but also about their effect on the common man as the prices of food would be dictated by corporates.

This made an instant connect with the people of states like Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra among others, who otherwise had expressed reservations against the sti. A woman farmer from Bihar said the BJP had been successful in creating the narrative that only two states were against the laws, while these would be beneficial to farmers of other states. “But we know better, as small farmers from Bihar are forced to work as labourers to supplement their meagre incomes after the so-called reforms freed up the mandis.”

Leaders Darshan Pal, Balbir Singh Rajewal, Jagjeet Singh Dallewal, Prem Singh Bhangu, Rajinder Singh Deepsinghwala (from Punjab) and Abhimanyu (from UP) put forth the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, saying it allowed corporates to store as much foodgrain or crops, which would help them create huge stockpiles and using these to flood the markets around the harvest time, to artificially lower the prices at which farmers can sell. A farmer from Nagpur said: “This is exactly what the corporates do with citrus fruits. The MSP of all crops should be the legal right of farmers, and the Centre must grant us this right.”

Deepsinghwala, who moderated the session, said to counter the Centre’s narrative, they decided to use social media and give their side of the story regarding the new farm laws and clear the air about the protests. “We wanted to give the message that this is not a political protest. It is a protest to save the lives and livelihoods of farmers,” he said.