Mahabubnagar: Opposition parties stage dharna against agriculture bill

Mahabubnagar: Opposing the Central government's recent agriculture bill passed in the Parliament, all Opposition parties including CPI, CPM, New Democracy and Congress came on to a single platform and staged protest at Telangana Chowrasta near district collectorate here on Friday. They demanded the Central government to immediately retrieve the agriculture bill or else they will further intensify their agitation across the country.

Speaking on the occasion, CPI district secretary Paramesh Goud alleged that the Centre had forcefully brought agriculture bill in the Parliament without putting it for discussion. They have not even consulted the state governments, nor they have taken the consent of farmers and passed the bill with voice vote. The protesting parties alleged that by forcing the agriculture bill without taking the consent of State governments and farmers, the Central government is killing the democratic and federal spirit of this country, he criticized. Further, there was no mention of minimum support price to the farmers, he added.

Paramesh Goud said that the bill not only spells doom to the existing marketing systems, but it will also lead to loss of jobs to millions of people, who are eking out livelihood depending on agriculture markets across the country.

Pointing out that the Centre was trying to privatise and corporatise farming sector in the country, he noted that the Central government has not included any of the suggestions of Swaminathan Commission. The protesting parties also alleged that the Centre brought this bill to favor private and corporate sectors and not to the farmers.

The leaders of CPI, CPM, and New Democracy blocked roads and demanded the Central government to take back the agriculture bill immediately and send it to select committee to review the bill and make suitable favorable amendments that will benefit farmers by including the MSP clause.

The CPI leaders also reminded that more than 86 per cent of farmers in the country are having agriculture land less than two to three acres.

If this bill is implemented, it will destroy the government agriculture markets and private agriculture markets will come into place, which would be rub by big corporate like Adani, Ambani, Wall Mart etc, who will buy agriculture produce from the farmers at low cost, and there is also a possibility that these corporate sectors will stock the agriculture produce and create artificial demand and increase the prices of commodities and sell it at exorbitant rates to the people.