A day asfter Congress Mps burned copies of the newly-passed farmers bills in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament Complex, the praty’s former spokesman has tweeted asking why the Congress is opposing the bills when when it had made similar suggestions in its 2019 Lok Sabha manifesto.
“Folks, in our Congress Manifesto for 2019 Lok Sabha elections, we had ourselves proposed abolition of APMC Act and making agricultural produce free from restrictions. This is what Modi government has done in the farmers bills. BJP and Congress are on the same page here,” Jha tweeted.
Folks, in our Congress Manifesto for 2019 Lok Sabha elections, we had ourselves proposed abolition of APMC Act and making agricultural produce free from restrictions. This is what Modi government has done in the farmers bills. BJP and Congress are on the same page here.
— Sanjay Jha (@JhaSanjay) September 18, 2020
“The farm bills eliminate middle-men; isn’t that supposed to be BJP’s core vote-bank? Also, the amendment in Essential Commodities Act is consistent with UPA’s own intent earlier and will benefit what Congress’s FDI in multi-brand envisaged. Bipartisan politics please!” he added.
As per the Congress’s 2019 Lok Sabha manifesto, the Congress said they would “repeal the Agricultural Produce Market Committees Act and make trade in agricultural produce—including exports and inter-state trade—free from all restrictions.”
The manifesto also stated that the “Essential Commodities Act, 1955 belongs to the age of controls. Congress promises to replace the Act by an enabling law that can be invoked only in the case of emergencies.”
The BJP too has accused Congress of “forgetting its own stand”, with party chief J.P. Nadda sayingall three bills are “path-breaking reforms to empower farmers” and that the Congress thesmelves had promised to repeal the APMC act.
Jha had been suspended from the Congress in July for “anti-party activities” and “breach of discipline” after he wrote an article critical of the party.
Various opposition parties had staged acts of protests after the BJP goverment passed a series of bills related to the farm sector in the Lok Sabha, namely, the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, in addition to the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill passed on Tuesday.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) member Harsimrat Kaur Badal laso resigned from the Union Cabinet in protests against the farm sector bills.
Thousands of famers have taken to the streets in Punjab and Haryana against the legislative changes. The Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee has announced a rail roko agitatino from September 24 to 26, in protest against the farm bills. Among their concerns are the provisions for “trade areas” that they fear could confine APMC mandis and benefit private players as well as fears that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) regime is being wekaened..
In addition, RSS affiliated Bharatiya Kisan Sangh—which claims to be India's biggest farmers organisation—has called for the bills to be moved to a select committee.
As per the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the new legislation will “creeate an ecosystem where the farmers annd trades will enjoy freedom of choice of sale and purchase of agri-produce”, promoting barried-free inter-state and intra-state trade and commerce outside the physical premises of mrkets notified under State Agricyultural Produce Marketing legislations.
