Friends; as you are all aware the farmers agitation, particularly from farmers in Punjab, UP, Haryana and Delhi at New Delhi, has reached its 30th day with no indication of settlement.
The agitating FARMERS want that the so called ‘FARM LAWS (the 3 laws recently passed in Parliament)’ be withdrawn in ‘Total’.
- Today’s street agitation at New Delhi has drawn the largest protesters in history of street protests in last 30 years in India!
- No amount of reasoning with the protesters (estimated to be 70 percent traders, 30 percent farmers) to make them understand that the laws passed benefit them and the government has an honest agenda to ‘double their income’ by end of year 2022, has borne fruit.
- All opposition parties are backing this Farm protests as it gives them a chance to confront the ruling party (BJP and Modi in particular.) They hate Modi’s successes (many) in last 6-years. They are scared that the ongoing successes of Modi will win him a third term in 2024 since he has more or less fullfilled most promises from Demonetizing to Tripple talaq to A370 abrogation in Kashmir to building Ram Mandir in Aayodhya. He is also succeeding in bringing democracy at the grass roots level with recent municipal elections in the UT of J&K, even as he builds up the Indian military and Airforce to maintain the much needed military deterrence to keep China at bay. Once the pandemic is controlled in India, he might even steadily grow the economy from where it is stagnating now into a 5 trillion dollar economy in his present term itself!
- Most India watchers have given Modi the thumbs up for all the progress so far under this BJP government in last 6 years; optimism that the economy is going to bounce back once the Corona virus is brought under control is growing fast.
- Coming to the 3 FARM LAWS…, bringing a better deal for the hard working farmer (tiller of soil) will be another feather in Modi’s cap if the growing Farmers Protest is halted.
Here is my suggestion:
- At next Parliament session withdraw these 3 Farm laws as worded now; street agitators and opposition parties will pat their backs saying they have broken Modi’s back!
- Re-introduce them by labeling them ‘AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY TRADING LAWS’
How does that help?
Constitution of India does not restrict selling or marketing of any COMMODITY (agricultural commodity included,) to producing zone only.
All commodities can be traded/marketed in any part of India (State or Union Territory) by moving them from production zone to consumption zone.
For example, KERALA is a agricultural produce consuming zone, not a producing zone. KERALA has no APMC (MANDI). KERALA largely buys agricultural produce like Wheat, Rice, Lintels etc from neighboring States of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and even from as far as PUNJAB, HARYANA and UP.
THE WORD AGRICULTURE is restricted to production (by tilling, sowing, harvesting) of crops in the Farms, Once such ‘produce’ is separated (by harvesting) from their sapling (agri-plant) such produce becomes a ‘Commodity’.
In short,
- if the 3 FARM LAWS, red herring now for the Union government, are re-labeled ‘AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY TRADING LAWS’ the middle men involved in buying/selling and in general profiting from them through the APMC (MANDI) in the State of Punjab (to start with,) can be silenced.
- the real poor farmer (tiller of soil in Punjab) can then have a choice to sell the produce directly, a) either at the local APMC (local MANDI) or, b) to any buyer in any State outside the producing State using online trading practices and benefit from it.
- Middle men (70% of protesters today) can be largely silenced as such a move will be fully protected by the Constitution of India.
JAI SRIRAM
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The protestors are hell-bent in creating mayhem on the roads of Delhi. This is because the opposition parties want to gain some space in the politics. Congress in particular wants to show it is still relevant. RaGa creates noise on every subject under the sun merely to hog the limelight. He has not given up his ambition to become the PM of the country. Second, such protests on the scale can only be sustained by funds provided by a few interested parties. There are enough parties and countries inimical to India and want to discredit Modi and his government.
Although your idea is excellent the pigheaded farmers are likely to dismiss it as old wine in a new bottle. The protestors are defying the SC. Where do they get the courage if not from some political parties and foreign agencies. The SC by not realising the factors that are not visible has shown it too can be naive at times. I don’t imagine these farmers will stop unless and until the farmers in favour of the laws stage a massive counterprotest.
Thanks for being here Ramarao. Today’s news says 10 lakh farmers mostly from Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, UP and West Bengal will take part in a rally (Tractor rally?) in Delhi on Jan 26, Republic Day.
Yogendra Yadav has announced that the rally will remain peaceful, will not disturb the Center’s Republic Day Parade and no public property will be attacked. He further says the rally is to demonstrate to public that Farmers have genuine concerns.
I still feel my suggestion (in this blog) to scrap the 3 laws passed is the best solution. It can be done during Budget session (February 1, 2) with an announcement that an alternative AGRI COMMODITY TRADING LAWS (I have explained in this blog how it will be valid constitutionally) will be put before Parliament in due course after consulting all stake holders at a later date.
Such a move will no doubt hurt sentiments of the Government, but could be hailed as a victory to protesting farmers. They might withdraw their street protests nearing 50+ days.
Counter-protests will lead to chaos as they will be seen as government-sponsored. One thing is clear that the funds are flowing in freely to keep the pot boiling from India as well as abroad, otherwise, the likes of Yogendra Yadav have no support base to carry on this far, but now since the situation has gone out of hand, the government would need to take the laws back and start over again to give them a feel of a sort of moral victory which they are after. In a new move, to get them the feel of what they are going to miss out on the government as it brings the laws in whatever avatar back should keep Punjab out of it till they come begging for implementing it. Right or wrong is not the issue at this stage but what is despicable is their obstinacy. How can they stand for all the farmers. The emotional angle of them being anndatas that is being whipped up on the internet should be exposed. It is their profession that is what it is and it comes at a great cost to the government because it has to dole out subsidies and loan waiver carrots year after year. Who is paying for it? Who is going to pay for the blockage and loss to other businesses that have occurred in these fifty days of stand off? Do they care? They don’t pay any taxes so it matters little to them and their sponsors. Will the marginal and small farmers who are not producing even enough to feed their own families take up other jobs if the government tells them to take because farming for them is more of a liability to the nation than an asset? Years before this Mamata Banerji tried this stunt for coming to power. What happened as a result? Tata shifted the plant out of Bengal but did the farmers get their land back? Does anyone care if they are living or dead? No that same lies of selling the nation to Adani-Ambani is being spread by the fools like RaGa and Yogendra Yadav, Sitaram Yechury some leaders who have no vote base or relevance of continuing in the politics but see, how they can raise the stink.
I too suspect that money is flowing to these protesters from outside India. Main aim is to make the Central government to lose face because (according to opposition parties) Government passed these 3 Laws in haste since they have a brute majority in parliament; old practice was to send the Laws to a select committee of experts (… with opposition leader chairing select committee) and nothing could be decided for days on end.
Large scale Punjab farmers, middleman traders, banned Akali leaders living in UK or Canada are behind all these protests. They are funding these protests.
Surjewala of Congress (represents RaGa) and Yogendra Yadav (formerly of AAP) are very much interested in the politics of it all to strengthen their position.
Those who make maximum profits now at the Mandis (by buying and selling produce brought to the Mandis at prices below mandated MSP) do not want the hold they have at the APMC/Mandis.
Main difficulty, even with Central Government announcing the Minimum Support Price (MSP) is, the Centre does not act fast when the produce is stored/staked at the Mandis… government waits hoping some buyers will buy them before they buy, practically the left over from the Mandi. Guranteed MSP is only for a specified ‘certain quality’ of the grain. One of the small farmers made that clear; Large scale farmers and middlemen will not allow the produce to go away fast; at times they go stale as there are no large scale buyers (other than middle men.)
In short, even if government says MSP is guaranteed, Central govt does not act immediately and buy at the minimum support price.
More often than not the small scale farmer has no choice at the Mandi’s except to sell below the MSP to Big-farmers or Middle-men who later sell the produce at higher price to buyers far away from PUNJAB, HARYANA and UP.
I really don’t understand the hesitation on the part of the government to guarantee MSP on 23 crops but, strangely with all those things they have been insisting on repealing the laws. If repealing the laws is one of the issues then it only should be the issue because it in itself contains all other issues. Yes, the government shouldn’t have brought them in a hurry but perhaps it didn’t expect the kind of resistance and obduracy that is being linked with Sikh pride.
A few small scale farmers have alleged that although the Center guarantees Minimum Support Price (MSP) for ‘specified quality’ of Agri- commodities… the Center often delays buying it from the Mandis for subsequent storage in Central granaries. Because of such delays the produce rots in the Mandi. Some times non-perishable produce have been bought at MSP (sometimes above MSP too) but the Center does not act quickly to buy at the guaranteed MSP always! This causes hardships to small scale farmers who bring their produce to the APMC/Mandi… and so they fall prey to the bigger sharks at the Mandi. Grain often rots in the Mandi. When that happens the small scale farmer has to part with their lot (stack) at prices lower than MSP. This aspect was brought out by a few small farmers when they spoke with the PM.
Couple of small scale farmers have expressed their support for the new farm laws. Below is how some of them were benefitted by the new laws:
They conversed with PM recently. Summarisation below of their conversations with PM is by Reporters: Iram Siddique in Bhopal, Varinder Bhatia in Chandigarh, Partha Sarathi Biswas in Pune, Maulshree Seth in Lucknow and Abhishek Saha in Guwhati
1) Hailing from Chikliya village in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar district, Patidaar feels the farm laws have opened up alternatives, but ensuring mandis are up and running with assured MSP are of utmost importance. Patidaar who cultivates wheat, gram, garlic, peas and onion during the Rabi season and soyabean and maize during kharif on his four hectares, says the government needs to ensure that they don’t just declare MSP but purchase on it too. He says he has benefited from the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme and has received Rs 10,000 in five instalments.
“I forgot to ask the PM if the government will just declare MSP or also procure on it. There are people in my village who cultivated maize after the government declared MSP at around Rs 1,700-Rs 1,800 but are forced to sell at 1,200 as the government has not initiated procurement.” Patidar says when he finds the prices at mandi to be lower, he sells his produce to the soya choupal set up by ITC outside the mandi.
2) Bishnoi, A resident of Nadhori village in Fatehabad district, owns 10 acres of land. He and his three brothers and their families live together and jointly own 40 acres in the village. He said, “Three days ago, I got a call from SDO (Agriculture). He told me that I have been shortlisted for having a conversation with the PM. I was also told that two of my brothers have received money under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme.”
“I have been doing farming for the last 15 years. Earlier, I grew paddy, but now I have started growing fruits and vegetables. We sell our crop in local mandis and markets.”
On the farmers’ agitation, he said he was neither in favour nor against the laws. “If the legislation have been framed and certain shortcomings are pointed out, those shortcomings shall be removed. But, to say the entire concept is wrong is not correct.”
3) During his interaction with the PM, Bhosale, from Matola village in Latur district, spoke of his experience with the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.
Bhosale grows soyabean, tur, wheat, chana over his 7.5 acres of land. “I opted for the insurance scheme as it acts as a cushion in case my crop fails due to adverse climate conditions,” he says. For the last kharif season, Bhosale paid a premium of Rs 2,580 per acre for his soyabean crop, and received compensation worth Rs 54,315 per acre as his crop was all but destroyed in heavy rain. “I am a simple farmer and stay as far as possible from politics,” he says. Bhosale supports the new laws and believes they would help growers like him increase their earnings. “Traders will come to our village to buy directly from us. Through contract farming, small holders can pool in their holdings and grow for corporate buyers,” he says. The discontent, he says, is due to some “misconceptions”.
4) Hailing from Maharajganj district, Ram Gulab owns 1.5 acres of land. Along with four other farmers, he recently brought together 300 small farmers under the farmer producer group, Maharajganj Producer Company Ltd, and entered into a contract with a company to grow a specific variety of sweet potato. Having studied till Class VIII, Gulab has said he has benefited from several government schemes, from Swachh Bharat Mission to Kisan credit card to PM Kisan Samman Nidhi. He said they are growing a specialised variety of sweet potato that has higher protein and vitamins content.
5) “We would have to give 10 tonnes by February-end or March and over 200 tonnes by next season. In a year, we can get two crops and as per the agreement, the company will pick our produce from the field at Rs 25 per kg, which otherwise sold at Rs 10-15 per kg in the market,” he said. He said they estimate expenditure of Rs 35,000- Rs 40,000 to grow the crop per acre and expect profit of Rs 1 lakh per acre.
6) Gagan Perying, an organic ginger cultivator from Lower Dibang Valley district, is managing director of the farmer producer’s company Lower Dibang Valley Organic Ginger Producer Company Ltd. Perying said the PM asked him about the PM Kisan scheme. “I told him about getting Rs 2,000 after every four months. He asked me about what I was doing with the money I received as a part of the scheme. I told him that I was buying organic fertilisers and other organic chemicals,” he said. Perying said the company has also signed an agreement with a Siliguri-based company to sell finished organic ginger products.
I wonder why the farmers who understand that the laws are really for their good come out in strength in support of the government. It may not deter those who are protesting against the laws but may prove a point to the nation as a whole. Even if the people knows who is behind the protests and who benefits if the laws are repealed, this stalemate is not helping anyone. The farmers or who ever is representing them are obstinate on their part and therefore they can’t see the reason, because they don’t want to see it, but they don’t comprise more than a mere fraction of the whole farming community, so they should be shown their place and the people behind the protest should be exposed. As of now the forces that do not want a settlement have been able to drive a wedge and now it is a kind of a showdown because of the self pride collectively being seen as that of Sikh community against the oppressive regime it is being seen as and that is a dangerous development. As regards withdrawing the laws and representing them in by changing name as you suggest, I think there is one serious danger and that is that once it is done, there will be a clamor for all the laws like NRC-CAA and Abrogation of article 370 against which the traitors and the opportunists have thus far been raising stink, will be brought to a crescendo.
I suspect that there is hidden hand behind these “block the roads” project in this cold season when no tilling, sowing, harvesting can be done.
I suspect that these protesters are coached and paid to do these protests; most of them do not know why they cannot make much money for their toils on the farms. They do not understand who is making more money from their toils.
Moreover, preventing farmers from selling products outside the APMC (Mandi) helps Punjab (largest manufacturer in country of produce like Wheat for eg., in country) in collecting a ‘TAX’ on everything sold through the Mandi.
If farmers are allowed to sell outside the Mandi, Punjab will lose their ‘TAX’ base!
I suspect that the CM of Punjab is very much behind these protesters. Also, if Punjab buys all the wheat & Rice sold at the Mandi’s they can not only tax the transactions at source but also make some of it rot in storage to make wine. Punjab is already one of the largest producers of rice and wheat wine.
Other opposition parties just want to break the back of ruling party, because they are jealous of Modi’s political success in last 6 years. The do not want BJP to succeed in doubling FARMER’s income by end of 2022… that will help BJP win all new elections.
NRC-CAA and abrogation of article 370 are different issues; each one of them has merits for future of India.
At this time, this meaningless protest against the 3 laws which, in my opinion, can really bring better price for the toils of hardworking tillers of soil; the 3 laws open up more avenues for them… they can sell their produce directly to buyers who are ready to pay better prices for their produce.
Digital marketing can be used to do all this. As mentioned in blog, 70 percent of the protesters are middle men here… they have their own selfish agenda in buying locally from the farmers at a low rate and then marketing them to make huge killings.