Former chief minister and general secretary of All India Congress Committee (AICC), Harish Rawat has said that farmers in all parts of the country are agitated and angry at the passage of three farm bills in parliament. He said that farmers have given a call of Bharat Bandh on Friday and the Congress party has decided to support the farmers. Questioning the manner in which these bills were passed without discussion and voice vote amid suspension of eight MPs, Rawat said that all norms were set aside by the government. He said that the concept of Minimum Support Price (MSP) was obtained by the farmers after much struggle. He claimed that the new bill ensures that gradually the relevance of MSP is finished. “Initially the private players would offer good prices to the farmers but in later stages when the system of Mandi is destroyed they would finish the MSP. Why is the government not bringing a law to protect the MSP?’’, he asked.
The veteran leader of Congress said that the government wants to demolish the PDS system which has ensured food security for the poor. Under the new regime everything would be in the hands of market forces. Launching an attack on the government for giving a mortal blow to the labour reforms, that by passing legislation the government has allowed companies employing less than 300 workers to shut down without any notice. He claimed that now jobs of 75 to 80 percent of the labour force have come under risk.