Cong to launch nationwide protest against farm Bills

The Congress will launch a nationwide agitation from September 24 against the farm Bills passed in Parliament which would include collecting two crore signatures of farmers against the legislations.

The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 were passed by the Rajya Sabha on Sunday amid large-scale protests by Opposition parties. The Lok Sabha had passed the bills earlier.

The Congress said it will observe Gandhi Jayanti on October 2 as ‘ Kisan aur Majdoor Bachao Diwas’ (Save Farmers and Workers Day) and has asked all its state units to hold kisan sammelans (farmers meets) on October 10.

Apart from this, it would hold a series of press conferences across the country to make people aware of the issues involved and collect two crore signatures from farmers which would then be submitted to President Ram Nath Kovind on November 14.

Separately, state Congress presidents, legislature party leaders and other senior leaders will take out marches in their respective states and submit memoranda to the Governors. The decision to launch the agitation was taken at a meeting of party general secretaries and state unit in-charges which was called following the ruckus during the passage of the Bills in Parliament, specially the Upper House.

At a press conference after the meeting, senior leader Randeep Surjewala also accused the Shiromani Akali Dal of indulging in double-speak and of being dishonest on the farm bills.

It might be recalled that minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal of the Shiromani Akali Dal had quit the Union Cabinet over the Bills. Congress spokesman Randeep Surjewala asked why the party had not left the ruling National Democratic Alliance.

Meanwhile, The Congress termed “undemocratic” and “one-sided” the suspension of eight Opposition Rajya Sabha MPs, including three of its own, with Rahul Gandhi saying the “muting of democratic India” continues by initially silencing and later suspending the parliamentarians.

“‘Muting Of Democratic India’ continues: by initially silencing and later, suspending MPs in the Parliament & turning a blind eye to farmers’ concerns on the black agriculture laws,” Gandhi said in a tweet.