Farmers Protest in India
So the year 2020 the worst year that has been has now ended as we were taken back by global pandemic i.e. corona, cyclones and now the farmers protest in India. It has been around 3 months that the protest of farmers is going on.
In this blog we will talk about the introduction of the farm bill 2020 in India and what fear are the farmers going through now and the farmer agitation in Punjab.
Three farm bills were introduced in the Parliament of India of September 2020. One bill reduces the restrictions governing the sale and purchase of farm produce [Farmers Produce Trade and commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill]; Second bill reduces restrictions on stocking under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 [Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill]; and Third bill initiates a legislation to enable contract farming based on written agreements [Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Service Bill].
The government says the new laws will liberalize farm trade, give freedom to farmers to sell their produce outside regulated markets and enter into contracts with buyers at a pre- determined price.
(Punjab farmers protest in New Delhi) -The farmers protest at border points of New Delhi, thousands of farmers, especially from Punjab and Haryana, are staging a sit-in protest along Delhi borders. The protest started on November 26. Farmers from Punjab and Haryana have been protesting against the farm Legislations being apprehensive that the government will put an end to or scrap off the MSP system (minimum support price). The farmers are asserting on a written assurance that the MSP system will continue even though the central government has assured orally as the Bill does not give any statutory backing to MSP.
The farmer agitation in Punjab started after the introduction of the three farm bills in September 2020 itself. The farmers of Punjab started blocking railways and protesting there and then to repeal the three farm bills as they are apprehensive that the central government can take away the MSP system leaving them at the clemency of big corporate companies.
Due to this act of farmers the railways suffered a huge loss that crossed an estimate of Rs. 1200 crore as the protests on train tracks continued at 32 places across the State. One of the recent activities that have been taken place by the farmers is that the Farmers from different states of India are shouting anti- Modi slogans during an ongoing protest at a stretch of the national highway near Singhu border on December 2020.
On hearing the pleas on the issue of farmers protest, the court on December said that the agitation should be allowed to continue without any hindrance and the court will not interfere or intrude with it as the right to protest is a fundamental right.
However on 18th January 2021 the SC refused to pass any order on protesting farmers propose犀利士
d any rally either by the means of tractor or any vehicle of any other mode which seeks to obstruct the Republic Day celebrations on 26th January 2021. While the Centre file an application through Delhi Police saying that “defaming the nation globally” can never be included in the right to protest. The centre persuaded the SC to impede any kind of protest by the means of tractor or any vehicle of any other mode in Delhi on the Republic Day.