Rahul attacks Centre in LS over farm laws
Govt ready to talk openly, amend them, if needed: Rajnath
New Delhi, Feb. 11: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday alleged that the three contentious farm laws will allow industrialists to buy unlimited quantities of foodgrains and "break the spine of farmers" even as Union defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the government is ready to talk openly on these laws and amend them, if need.
A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Lok Sabha staunchly defended the newly enacted agri laws and supported private enterprises and greater investment in agriculture sector, Gandhi stepped up the attack, alleging that these laws will destroy India's food security system and will hurt the rural economy.
"The intent of the three laws is to allow industrialists to buy unlimited quantities of foodgrains and hoard them as much as they want," Mr Gandhi said in Lok Sabha.
Asserting that the laws were enacted to ensure the right price to the farmers for their produce and help them sell their produce anywhere in the country, Mr Singh said, "an atmosphere of confusion has been created" and it is being claimed that the wholesale market will no longer exist, the MSP system will come to an end and the land of the farmers would be mortgaged.
The farmers were "misled" and these confusions were created by people with "vested interests", Mr Singh said while participating at an online event organised by the Madhya Pradesh government.
Bihar chief minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar also backed the laws, saying these legislations are in the interest of farmers and not against them.
Speaking to reporters after meeting Mr Modi, Mr Kumar said his party is with the government on the issue and that the Centre has opted for the right path by holding talks with the farmer unions agitating against the three laws. "Hopefully, the issue will be resolved soon," the BJP ally said.
Thousands of farmers are protesting on various Delhi borders for more than two months demanding a complete repeal of the three laws, which they find pro-corporate and against the existing mandi and MSP procurement systems. However, the government has rejected these apprehensions as baseless, though at least 11 rounds of talks between the two sides have failed to end the stalemate.