CHANDIGARH: Aam Aadmi Party Lok Sabha Member of Parliament Bhagwant Mann today slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party for bringing anti-farmer laws like Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020.
Mann said that these bills are a step towards privatising the farming industry; MSP will be finished and these bills will give free hand to the private players. He also said that to save a cabinet post the Shiromani Akali Dal has sold out the rights of the farmers of Punjab and if they really want to support their rights then they must vote against this bill. Mann said that while tabling the bill the Union minister has said that Punjab CM was part of the planning of this bill and supported it so the Congress must clear their stand on this bill. Jarnail Singh said that the Aam Aadmi Party will oppose these bills in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
MP Bhagwant Mann said, "Yesterday the Bharatiya Janata Party has tabled this agricultural ordinance bill. In this bill, it was noted that it was a revolutionary bill, but this bill will actually destroy the lives of the farmers. This bill is a step towards privatising the farming industry. The MSP will be finished and this bill will give a clear free hand to the private players. Earlier the Bharatiya Janata party has privatised the banks, LIC, railways etc and now they have targeted the agricultural lands. The farmers across India are protesting against this bill."
He said, "We are also opposing the Essential Commodities (Amendment) ordinance 2020. The most unfortunate part is that the two Shiromani Akali Dal MPs supported this ordinance. The SAD has two MPs in Lok Sabha, Sukhbir Singh Badal and Harsimrat Kaur Badal who is also a Cabinet minister. To save a cabinet post the Shiromani Akali Dal has sold out the rights of the farmers of Punjab. The SAD which used to call itself a party for the farmers has now become a puppet of the Bharatiya Janata Party. If they really want to support the rights of the farmers then I will request them to vote against this bill because they have four votes in total in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha."
"Yesterday the minister also said that when the discussion and planning of these bills were taking place, the CM of Punjab also supported this. I want to ask the Congress party to clarify their position because at one side they are opposing this bill and on the other side they are supporting this bill. Tomorrow while we will raise our voice inside the Parliament , the Punjab unit of the party will hold a tractor march in front of the house of SAD MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, " said Mann.
He said that this bill will not only destroy the lives of farmers but also this will destroy the lives of agricultural labourers, people of tractor industry, people of the transportation industry, people who work in the mandis and others. By this bill, the farmers will become labourers in their own farmlands under the big industrialists. He has also urged every person who resides from Punjab to oppose these bills.