BATTLE AGAINST FARM LAWS NOT CONFINED TO PUNJAB, HARYANA, SAYS J’KHAND CM

NEW DELHI: Raising questions over the Centre’s offer to suspend the farm laws instead of repealing them, Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren on Thursday said the government is under a “misconception” that only the farmers of Punjab and Haryana are in this “battle” and asserted that tillers across the country want the scrapping of the “repressive” legislations.

He said if the farmers’ agitation is not dealt with empathetically by the government, it will soon spread to different parts of the country.

Soren said the impasse between the government and the farmers over the new agri laws was tarnishing India’s image at international forums.

After making the farmers suffer on the streets for months, the Centre has suggested to suspend the three laws for one and half years instead of repealing them completely, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) executive president said.

“The government is under wrong impression that only the farmers from Punjab and Haryana are in this battle. They are living with a big misconception. Farmers across the country, be it Himachal Pradesh, UP, Northeast or any other place, have the same sentiment,” he said.