By: Vijay Kumar Verma, Group Editor-ICN World
SHIMLA: The response of Kisan unions to the amendments proposed to the three Agriculture Bills by the union government has been on the expected lines. It clearly indicates that If not in physical presence, the mindset of opposition parties appears to have creeped into the decisions of Kisan Unions or they were perhaps toeing the lines of opposition parties who too had made a similar representation to the President of India.
Nothing short of withdrawal of the three “Black” Agriculture Bills is what the Kisan Unions and the opposition parties have demanded in one voice.
One wonders if the lone demand of withdrawal of the bills was on their minds what was the fun of holding multiple negotiations with the government during the past two weeks and taking the masses to ransom?. Were they simply testing the limits to which the government can be pushed against the wall to accept their various demands like legalizing MSP in the Bills, Continuation of APMCs in their present formats, upping the level of legal recourse in case of any dispute with contract farming, from SDM to Civil Court, withdrawal of penalties for burning of parali, and their many of their just or unjust demands by way of spreading chaos on roads.
Perhaps exploiting their strength of being the largest vote bank in the country. The lot has remained pampered by all the ruling parties ever since independence of the country. From the days of atrocities by the British government to forcefully paying lagan to enjoying the largesse of political leadership.
For the general public there is perhaps no difference in a minority community recently holding the national capital to ransom by blocking an important link road between Delhi and Noida. And now this Farmer groups blocking all the entry points to the national capital like demonstrating a seize to the fort by enemies in old wars.
The general citizens wonder if this is true Independence when one group considers its fundamental rights Supreme over the rights of others?
And the government machinery as well as the judiciary remains silent over this act of this black mailing?
One wonders that if the farmers of Punjab who have remained the most pampered lot in the country have any right to gag the national capital after continuously blocking the rail lines for months together jeopardizing the inflow and outflow of even industrial products from the state?. Not even allowing movement of coal to their own Thermal power plants?
The farmers of Punjab are richest lot in the country with the highest annual per capital income. The successive state governments have been offering them doles like free power which is practically used for running consumer durables at their homes. Subsidised fertilizers, seeds, farm education which are a dream for farmers of other states They also get free and best irrigation facilities as well as the best in country farm equipment for tilling and harvesting and also infrastructure facilities for transportation of their produce to the mandis.
And it is another irony of circumstances that the ruling government as well as the opposition parties of Punjab have been supporting the agitating farmers equally. The government sponsored bandhs appear to be becoming an accepted norm. The country’s Minister of Food Processing, from Punjab had failed to do anything for the farmers of her own state even during her long stint in the position and what to talk of promoting Processing industries in the country.
After the prolonged lockdowns due to Corona, and curfews in the country, the general public is made to once again face another blockade of moving in and out of the city.
One may hardly believe that the Farmers move has long been hijacked by not only the political interests but by anti national interests. At the cost of nation’s image at international level the farmers are unknowingly putting the country’s interests at stake. If Prime Minister of Canada or the ruling government in UK are supporting the agitations and also allowing anti national Khalistan forces unite and demonstrate, it brings shame to our external relations.
In the face of such bottlenecks let us see how long the government continues to pamper their dreams.
