A day before the final round of talks between the Centre and the protesting farmers over the controversial farm laws, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the Modi Government saying that for the first time since independence such an “arrogant” Government has come to power which cannot see the sufferings of the “annadatas”.
Demanding that the new farm laws be immediately withdrawn unconditionally, Sonia said Governments and their leaders who ignore public sentiments in a democracy cannot govern for long and it is now quite clear that the protesting farmers will not bow in the face of the Centre’s policy of “tire and pushover”.
The Congress has been seeking the repeal of the three new farm laws, alleging that they will ruin farming and the farmers while the party is supporting the farmers’ agitation against the legislations.
“There is still time, the Modi Government should leave the arrogance of power and immediately withdraw the three black laws unconditionally to end the agitation of the farmers who are dying in the cold and rain. This is Rajdharma and a true tribute to the farmers who have
lost their lives,” Sonia Gandhi said.
The Modi Government should remember that democracy means protecting the interests of the people and the farmers-workers, she said. “Along with the people of the country, I am also disturbed seeing the condition of the ‘annadatas’ who have been agitating for 39 days at the borders of Delhi in the bitter cold and rain in support of their demands,” she said.
In the wake of the Government’s apathy, so far, more than 50 farmers have lost their lives with some even taking the step of committing suicide due to the Government’s neglect, mentioned Sonia. “But neither the heartless Modi Government relented nor the Prime Minister or any other Minister uttered a word of consolation till today. I pay my respects to all the deceased farmer brothers and pray to the Lord to give their families the strength to bear this sorrow,” the Congress president said.
“Since independence, this is the first such arrogant Government that has come to power in the history of the country that, leave alone people, cannot even see the sufferings and struggles of ‘annadatas’,” she said further.
It seems that ensuring profits for a handful of industrialists has become the main agenda of this Government, Sonia alleged. The Government has presented these laws as major agriculture sector reforms aimed at helping farmers and increasing their income, but the protesting unions fear that the new legislations will leave them at the mercy of big corporates by weakening the MSP and mandi systems.
The grand old party also accused the Centre of showing apathy as the Food Corporation of India’s Chhattisgarh unit was not lifting the rice stocks and asked whether the procurement was “halted” because the Government’s “suit-boot friends” were not involved in managing storage in the State. At a AICC Press conference Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh said that despite a pre-intimation by the FCI to procure 60 lakh metric tonnes of rice under the central pool for the kharif season, Chhattisgarh has not received a final consent.
The Chhattisgarh Government started procurement on December 1, and has procured 47 lakh tonnes from 12 lakh farmers so far, but the State is yet to receive a consent from the Government of India, despite several requests, he said. This would impact close to 21.52 lakh farmers, Vallabh said.
“This is a clear case of complete apathy towards farmers who are fighting for their rights and to save their dignity but the Government seems to be occupied in filling the pockets of their friends. If the Government is not willing to procure the volumes pre-intimated by them, even when the protests are ongoing, what can we expect from the Government once all this settles down?” he said.