Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Dec 12: Even as the protesting farmers showed further hardening of their attitude rebutting the central government’s claim of the agitation having being “hijacked” by the leftist and anti-social elements, the prime minister Narendra Modi again on Saturday reiterated his government’s oft-repeated claim that the new farm laws would “actually benefit the farmers.”
As the farmers’ barricading the borders of Delhi entered the 17th day on Saturday, the Delhi Police stepped up security arrangements and deployed additional personnel and placed more concrete barriers at various border points of the national capital after farmers announced they would intensify their protest against the Centre’s new farm laws and block the Delhi-Jaipur highway and the Yamuna Expressway.
While addressing the 93rd annual convention of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Modi deviating from the industrial sector addressed the farmers for some time assuring them that his government was committed to the welfare of the farm sector.
Without directly referring to the current agitation, Modi said the new legislations were aimed at giving the farmers alternate markets to boost income.
Modi said agricultural reforms were part of government efforts at removing roadblocks at the progress of the farmers and the new laws would also bring in technology and investment in the sector. The government, he said, was committed to protecting the interest and welfare of farmers through its policies and actions.
“Reforms will help draw investment in the agriculture sector and benefit farmers. The aim of all government reforms is to make farmers prosperous. The new legislations, which were approved in the previous Parliament session, give farmers an additional option outside of the designated mandis to buy or sell their crops,” he said.
“Farmers have now options to sell their crops in mandis as well as to outside parties. While mandis are being modernised, the digital platform is also available to farmers to buy and sell their produce. These efforts are aimed at raising incomes of farmers,” he said. “All these efforts are directed towards improving the farmers’ income so that they become prosperous. When farmers prosper, the country will prosper,” he said.
But even as the farmers so far have refused to pay any heed to the union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar’s repeated appeal for sorting out the disputes through negotiations, the statement by the railway minister Piyush Goyal that the farmers agitation was being misused by the “Leftist, Maoist, anti-social elements,” has apparently further hardened the attitude of the agitators challenging the centre to put such elements behind the bars if they could catch one. The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) national spokesperson Rakesh Tikait said protesting farmers have no idea of any such stray element in their protest. Central intelligence agencies should catch them, he said. “Central Intelligence should catch them. If people of a banned organization are roaming amid us, put them behind bars. We haven’t found any such person here, if we do we’ll send them away,” Tikait said.
Amid the ongoing stalemate between the Centre and farmers, which went a notch higher on Saturday with protesters, Goyal had brought direct charges of the protest getting derailed. “People of India are watching, seeing what is happening, observing how across the country Leftist-Maoists are not finding any support and therefore they are trying to hijack this farmers agitation and trying misuse this platform for their own agenda,” Goyal tweeted.
The farmers have maintained from the beginning that their protest is apolitical though their call for Bharat Bandh garnered massive support from most of the opposition and regional political parties. No politician has been allowed to speak at the stage at the key protest site at Singhu border.
Farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, have been camping at Delhi’s borders since November 26. Several rounds of talks between the government and farmer unions have taken place. Despite considerable concessions made by the Centre, farmers have been steadfast in their demand that the laws be repealed.
Intensifying their protest against the Centre’s new agriculture laws, farmers took over some toll plazas in Haryana on Saturday, not allowing authorities to collect fees from commuters. The agitating farmers had earlier said they would picket toll plazas to press their demand for a repeal of the three new laws, which were pushed through in Parliament in September despite strong protests by opposition parties.
More than 100 farmers led by the BKU redhead a toll plaza on the Ambala-Hisar highway, around 15 km from Ambala city and raised slogans demanding the repeal of the farm laws. The toll plaza staff allowed vehicles to pass through without paying any charge.
A large police force was deployed at the toll plaza to avoid any untoward incident. Farmers also did not allow the collection of fees from commuters at Bastara and Peont toll plazas in Karnal. While the Bastara toll plaza is located on NH-44, the Peont toll plaza is located on the Karnal-Jind highway.
A senior police officer said there had been no protest yet on Delhi’s borders with Gurgaon and at other points of National Highway-8 that connects the national capital with Jaipur.
The increase in security arrangements was made after the farmers rejected the centre’s proposal for amending the contentious acts and announced to further intensifying the stir. The police have said they have made adequate arrangements including multi-layered barricading and deployment of personnel. Officials have said measures have also been taken to ensure commuters do not face inconvenience at places where protests were being staged.
Social activist Yogendra Yadav, who is part of the protest agitation said the farmers from Rajasthan and Haryana were assembling on Saturday and their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march would begin on Sunday. “Farmers’ ‘Delhi march’ on Jaipur-Delhi highway will not start today and it will begin from Shahjahanpur border tomorrow. Today, farmers from Rajasthan and Haryana will congregate in Kotputli and Behror,” Yadav tweeted in Hindi.