BKU (Bharatiya Kisan Union)leader Rakesh Tikait said farmers are ready to protest against the three contentious farm laws still in May 2024. Tiktait made the statement while addressing a press conference in Nagpur on Sunday. He added that the ongoing farmers’ protest at Delhi borders is an “ideological revolution” and echoed that the farmers want the three laws to be scrapped and statutory backing to be provided for MSP (Minimum Support Price).
The Centre had enacted three farm laws in 2020 which were projected as major reforms for India’s deteriorating agriculture sector aimed at removing the middlemen and allowing farmers to sell anywhere in the country.
However, the farmer community, especially from the north Indian states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh have expressed concerns over the new farm’s laws as they apprehend that the new farm laws would ultimately lead to the elimination of MSP and do away with the mandi system. Farmers have alleged that the new laws favor the big private players leaving the farmers at the mercy of these corporates.
Since the enactment of the laws in November, farmers have been protesting at the borders of the national capital demanding repealing of the three laws. The deadlock between the government and farmers has failed to reach any consensus despite multiple talks.
Last Tuesday, the Supreme Court of India stayed the implementation of the three farm laws until further orders and simultaneously formed a four-member committee to resolve the dispute. However, the farmers have refused to go before the committee as well as alleging that the composition of the panel included members who have supported farm laws in the past.
Tiktait also welcomed the apex court’s decision on staying the implementation of the laws but questioned the members included in the committee. He said:
When asked how long the farmer’s protest would continue, Tikaitreplied that they are ready to sit in protest till May 2024. He said that the government is adamant about its stance of implementing the farm laws and this protest will continue for a long. The next Lok Sabha elections in the country are due around May 2024.
Further, Tiktait dismissed allegations that the protest was fuelled by “rich farmers”. He said that people from various outfits and various villages have joined the protest. He added that the farmers from villages do not want protestors to come back until the three farm bills are taken back.
Tikait also said that the opposition parties in the country were weak and hence the farmers had to start this protest against the Centre’s farm laws. Referring to National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) notices to certain people supporting the farmers’ protest, he said that those who want to be part of the protest must be prepared for court cases, imprisonment, and sealing of property.
