Arvind Kejriwal questions benefit of agrarian laws post PM Modi's interaction with farmers

Reacting to PM Modi's interaction with the farmers on Friday, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal maintained that the three agrarian laws are not beneficial for the farmers in any way. According to him, the farmers will get only half the price for their produce if it is sold outside the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees. Kejriwal stressed that this refuted BJP's contention that the farm laws would not cause any loss to the farmers. 

AAP had opposed the farm legislation in both Houses of Parliament. On December 17, the Delhi Assembly passed a resolution urging the Centre to repeal the farm laws. Thereafter, all AAP MLAs including Kejriwal tore copies of the The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. 

Read: 'You Deny PM-KISAN To Bengal Farmers But Incite In Punjab?': PM Modi Singles Out CM Mamata

PM Modi's biggest outreach

Earlier in the day, PM Modi released the installment of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi worth over Rs.18,000 crore to 9 crore farmer families via video conferencing. Under the aegis of PM-KISAN, Rs.6000 is being directly transferred to the bank accounts of small and marginal farmer families having combined land ownership of up to two hectares in three installments per year. Thereafter, the PM also held a discussion with farmers from Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana,  Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh who shared their experiences about the initiatives taken by the Centre.

On this occasion, PM Modi lashed out at the Mamata Banerjee-led government for the non-implementation of PM-KISAN scheme in West Bengal. He accused the state government of harming the interest of the farmers in the process of settling political scores with the Centre. During the address, PM Modi explained the significance of the new farm laws.

Reiterating that the Minimum Support Price and the APMC system will continue, he lashed out at the opposition for spreading misconceptions among the farmers. Citing that APMCs don't exist in Kerala, he also slammed the Left Front government for opposing the agrarian laws. Extending an olive branch to the protesting farmers, the PM asserted that the Centre was ready to talk as long as the discussion is based on facts. 

Read: Chidambaram Pans Centre's 'inflexible' Stance, Urges 'keep Farm Laws On Hold During Talks'