Had Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intentions been genuine, the Centre would have ensured that a provision on the continuation of minimum support price was mentioned in the farm Acts, TNCC president K.S. Alagiri said on Sunday.
He was speaking at a rally organised by the party in Tiruvannamalai to protest against the Acts.
Mr. Alagiri criticised the BJP-led government for the manner in which the Bills were passed in Parliament, and for failing to consult the States. “Mr. Modi is saying that minimum support price is there and will continue. It is not mentioned in the Acts. Without something being written in legislation, it has no legal validity...,” he said.
A number of Congress MPs, MLAs, TNCC working presidents and other leaders took part at the rally.
Under the new laws, the concept of MSP would get abolished, Mr. Alagiri said. Farmers would be bound by the rates fixed by corporates, and they would end up doing contract-farming.
Small and marginal farmers would be the worst affected.
“Mr. Modi has destroyed public enterprises. Now he is bent on destroying India’s agriculture,” he said.
Former Union Minister P. Chidambaram, who addressed the rally through video-conference, said 94% of the farmers sold their produce outside ‘mandis’ and only 6% were selling through Agricultural Produce Market Committees. The law had made the life of a farmer more difficult.
“Mr. Modi says this system will do away with brokers. This system will only bring in more brokers on behalf of the corporates,” he said.
AICC secretary in charge of T.N. Sirivella Prasad asked why the government issued an ordinance and passed the Bills in a hurry when no association of farmers sought any change in farm trade. “The T.N. government is betraying the people by supporting these Acts,” he said.
