Modi govt wants to defeat the achievements of Green Revolution: Congress

A day after the BJP government in Haryana lathi charged protesting farmers, Congress slammed the Narendra Modi-led Central government in Delhi saying that the Modi government wants to destroy the achievements of the Green Revolution.

Issuing a statement, head of the Congress media cell, Randeep Surjewala said that the Modi government first brought an ordinance to capture the land of the poor and now they want to enslave the farmers.

Referring to three controversial ordinances enacted by the Modi government which farmers are protesting against, Surjewala said, “It is clear now that the Modi government is creating an East India Company with the help of their capitalist friends. They want to enslave workers, farmers. Modi who came to power with a promise to provide cost + 50 per cent profit to farmers has instead penned down a complete novel of their destruction. It came to power from farmers’ votes, but the Modi govt has proved to be a ‘Bhasmasur’ for them”.

Saying that the real intention of the government is to implement the Shanta Kumar Committee report, Surjewala while quoting agricultural experts said, “The Modi government does not want to give a minimum support price, and thus wants to save nearly one lakh crore in a year. It will directly hit the farmers”.

Shanta Kumar Committee Report in 2015 had recommended that the Food Corporation of India (FCI) should hand over all procurement operations of wheat, paddy and rice to the states.

“FCI will accept only the surplus (after deducting the needs of the states under NFSA) from these state governments (not millers) to be moved to deficit states,” recommended the report.

Saying that if the Modi government dilutes the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) it will destroy the whole system of the agrarian trade and the economy, Surjewala said through the ordinances, the Modi government wants to benefit the capitalists and multinational companies.

The farmers’ organisations in Haryana were protesting against three ordinances announced on 5 June:

• The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance
• The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020
• Amendment in the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.

While the Modi government has claimed that these ordinances will benefit the farmers and the traders, the farmers’ organisation believe that in the garb of these ordinances the government is trying to do away with the Minimum Support Price (MSP) regime.