Bandi questions KCR over farm Bill

Finding fault with the TRS for opposing the Centre’s farm bills, BJP state unit president Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Sunday asked if Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao would oppose over 1,000 new market yards which are going to be set up in Telangana state as part of the Bills that the TRS had opposed in the Rajya Sabha.

The TRS on Sunday voted against the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill.

In a letter to the Chief Minister, Sanjay claimed that the two Bills fit with the state government’s plans for food processing, warehousing and open market policies.

“As everyone knows, farmers of the nation have been facing insurmountable problems in terms of getting a fair price for their produce, owing to fluctuating weather conditions, unpredictable markets, and bureaucratic regulations. The result is that they are not able to get a suitable price that matches their produce and toil,” he wrote.

Maintaining that the new Bills will create a free and fair environment for farmers as well as traders to sell their produce in a bigger market, he said, “This day will be scripted in golden letters in the history of India, as it has ensured the redemption of farmers from rigid regulations.”

He said the two legislations will end the restrictions on the movement of agriculture produce and remove inter-state restrictions. These bills will also allow farmers to be directly involved in the marketing of their produce, thereby removing middlemen from the supply chain completely, Sanjay said.