SAD chief disapproves of Centre's 'heartless approach' towards farmers, weighs in on talks

SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday castigated the Union government for its "insensitive" approach towards resolving the grievances of protesting farmers. Lamenting that the farmers' stir in the bitter cold had failed to move the Centre, he questioned whether they were being punished for speaking out against repression. Moreover, Badal accused the government of playing with the sentiments of farmers by extending an invitation for talks without any agenda.

He called upon the Centre to announce its willingness to scrap the three farm laws instead of defaming farmers as "separatists". Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the SAD chief contended that the NDA government should learn from the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee's "statesman-like conduct" and resolve the grievances of farmers at the earliest. It is pertinent to note that Harsimrat Kaur Badal had resigned from the Union Cabinet in protest against the passage of the agrarian laws and subsequently, SAD severed ties with NDA. 

Read: 'Focus On COVID Control': Muraleedharan To Kerala Govt Over Assembly Session On Farm Laws

What are the farm laws? 

The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 aims at freeing the farmers from the constraints of the state Agriculture Produce Market Committees whereby they would be able to sell their produce anywhere. Meanwhile, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 protects and empowers farmers to engage with processors, wholesalers, large retailers, exporters for farm services. This entails the provision of contract farming. On the other hand, The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 specifies that the supply of foodstuffs including cereals, pulses, potato, edible oilseeds, and oils shall be regulated only under exceptional circumstances.

Read: Rajnath Singh Assures New Laws 'protect Interests Of Farmers', Hails PM Modi's Leadership

Protests by farmers

From what started as a scheduled protest in the national capital on November 26 and 27, thousands of farmers are still protesting at the borders of Delhi against the agrarian laws. While the Centre appealed to them to shift to the Nirankari Samagam Ground in Burari, only a section of farmers heeded this call. Apart from the five rounds of meetings that took place between Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar and the farmers' leaders, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also met them on one occasion.

However, the talks came to a standstill after the farmers refused to accept the written proposal sent by the Centre pertaining to the amendments in the farm laws. While the farmers' unions have hardened their stance on the repeal of the laws, the Union government has made it clear that it is not ready to do so. At the same time, it has expressed the willingness to continue the talks and assured that there is no threat to MSP and APMC. 

Read: Dushyant Chautala Asserts Amendments Needed In Farm Laws, Calls For Resumption Of Talks