Farmers move SC against new laws
Legislation will give multinationals free hand to exploit us, says union as stir enters 11th day
NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Kisan Union (Bhanu), one of the farmers’ outfits at the forefront of the ongoing protests on Delhi borders, has moved the Supreme Court, demanding rollback of the recently enacted agricultural laws on the ground that these legislations will give multinational companies a free hand to exploit the poor, illiterate farming community.
In its application and a separate petition moved by Bhartiya Kisan Union, led by its leader Bhanu Pratap Singh (BKUBhanu) said, that the laws will make farmers vulnerable to the corporate greed of multinational companies, which will have the upper hand in the bargain.
“The impugned legislations corporatize agriculture and usher in unregulated and exploitative regime because Indian farmer, of which most are illiterate, would not have the knowledge to negotiate the best terms with a private company and due to this (will) lead to unequal bargaining position in negotiating the farm agreements with corporate,” said the plea.
BKU compared corporate with “unscrupulous money lenders who would twist the words in their contracts making it unfavourable for farmers.”
The plea added that implementation of the three Acts in their form will spell disaster for the farming community by opening a parallel market which is unregulated and gives enough place for exploitation of the Indian farmer.
Supporting the continuation of agriculture produce market committee (APMC) as a “protective shield” around the farmers, BKU maintained that without APMC, the market would ultimately fall to the corporate greed of multinational companies, which are more profit oriented and have no care for the condition of the povertystricken farmers.
Agitations by farmers are continuing on Delhi borders with farmers staging protest over the laws and demanding Government to withdraw the legislations in the interest of farmers. Their stir has continued since November 26 and even after several rounds of negotiations between leaders of farmer unions with the Central government, no solution is in sight.
While the writ petition has been filed separately, the application by BKU-Bhanu is moved in a pending case where the three laws – Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020, are already under challenge.
This case has been filed Members of Parliament Tiruchi Siva of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). The Supreme Court, which had on October 12 issued notices to the Central government on petitions by Siva and the ones by Chhattisgarh Kisan Congress, and Manoj Jha
of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), is expected to take up the matter again next week.
Expressing apprehensions over the law, BKU-Bhanu has contended that farmers are very much scared that the Acts also lead to corporatization of the entire agriculture market and the prices can be driven up or down by the corporate.
Instead, the plea emphasised on the need to strengthen the APMC by infusing more capital and effective management of minimum support price (MSP).
“Indian farmers are totally against these bills and call it anti-farmer Acts. Six times discussions through dialogue with the Union Agriculture Minister with different organizations of farmers (were) heldbut no fruitful purpose served till now and all rounds of talks with Government remain inconclusive,” it said. Even on the changes made to the Essential Commodities Act, the petitioner organization said that the price of crops should be decided by the farmers by constituting a Farmers’ Commission. It said, “The amendment to the Essential Commodities Act would facilitate black marketing and these new laws attack the very foundation of the agricultural fabric of the nation…that was built to safeguard the interest of the farmers and not leave them at the mercy of privatization.”