Hundreds of protesters marched towards Delhi to protest against the farmers bills that were earlier passed in the houses this year.
The ‘Dilli Chalo’ march by hundreds of farmers from Punjab led to a tense face-off at the Shambhu interstate border, near Haryana’s Ambala district.
The President gave his assent to the agriculture Bills that were earlier passed by the Parliament. The opposition have termed these reforms as "ANTI-FARMER".
Harsimrat Kaur Badal, resigned from the Union Cabinet, protesting against the bills, alleging the Bills to be detrimental to Punjab's agriculture sector. Following this, the BJP's oldest ally, Shiromani Akali Dal quit the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
These Agri Bills have been on the charts for months now , so what's the deal about them -
What are the contentions in the bills ?
• The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce,
• The Farmers Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services and
• The Essential Commodities Act (Amendment) were passed by the House and received the President's assent turning them into laws. Agriculture Minister has assured that the MSP mechanism will stay, and protection of land ownership was in place to protect farmers' interests.
What are the bills for ?
The government has said these reforms will accelerate growth in the sector through private sector investment in building infrastructure and supply chains for farm produce in national and global markets.They are intended to help small farmers who don’t have means to either bargain for their produce to get a better price or invest in technology to improve the productivity of farms.The bill on Agri market seeks to allow farmers to sell their produce outside APMC 'mandis' to whoever they want. Farmers will get better prices through competition and cost-cutting on transportation.
However, this Bill could cause the states to lose 'commissions' and 'mandi fees'.The legislation will allow farmers to enter into a contract with business firms or large retailers on pre-agreed prices of their produce.
The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020, seeks to remove certain produces like cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onion and potatoes from the list of essential commodities. This will end the stock-holding limits except under extraordinary circumstances.
Farmers (in Punjab) are protesting against these reforms. Badal, resigned after the Bills were passed. Opposition parties i.e. TMC, Congress, DMK and BSP, opposed the agriculture sector reform bills, saying they were against the interests of small farmers, calling the move a conspiracy to ante the Green Revolution.
However, agitating farmers were allowed to enter Delhi after clashes with the police at the Haryana border. The protesting farmers have been granted permission to hold ‘peaceful protests’ at Nirankari Ground in North-West Delhi. Though, farmers gathered at the Singhu border have not entered the city so far.