Direct Modi govt to repeal 3 'anti-farmer' laws, Samyukt Kisan Morcha urges President

Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), the national coalition of farmer organisations protesting against the Centre's agricultural reforms, has requested President Ramnath Kovind to direct the Union government to repeal the three 'anti-farmer' laws and enact a law that will guarantee remunerative minimum support price (MSP) for the crops.

The SKM functionaries made the representation to the President through the office of the Governor of each state on June 26.

The memorandums called the three central farm laws 'unconstitutional', saying the Union government has "no authority to make legislation in the area of (agricultural) markets". The farmers also called the legislation 'undemocratic', alleging "no consultations and dialogues were held with farmers before framing the laws".

"Without being asked for and without proper reason, these laws were brought in covertly in the form of Ordinances. The Bills after being tabled in the Parliament were not sent to Committees for further study and debates. While pushing these Bills in the Parliament, voting by division was not allowed in Rajya Sabha," the memorandum said.

The farmer organisations alleged the three laws will "destroy farming and will snatch agriculture from farmers' hands and hand over to big corporations". They also criticised the penalties and jail terms for stubble burning incorporated in a new ordinance related to Delhi's air pollution, and the withdrawal of electricity subsidy through the Electricity Amendments Bill 2020. 

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On the demand for MSP, the organisations said they want it to be fixed using the Swaminathan Commission formula of C2 cost+50 per cent, and that such an MSP has to be guaranteed for all farmers in a legal framework.

The letter also alleged the government has been breaking the principles and rules of democracy to destroy the farmers' agitation. "To welcome farmers, who were moving towards the nation's capital to get their grievances and demands heard and addressed, the government put boulders, sand trucks, barbed fencing and barricades in our way.

It dug trenches on the roads and put in nails on the highways. It tear-gassed farmers, water-cannoned them and slapped false cases on them. The agitation was sought to be destroyed through non-existent farmer unions. The protesting farmers were sometimes labelled as agents, sometimes as terrorists, at other times as Khalistanis or Parasites or Corona Super-spreaders," it said.

The day of the representation - June 26 - marks the completion of seven months of farmer's agitation and the 47th anniversary of the Emergency in India, the letter noted.

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