Guwahati: Farmers in different parts of Assam staged demonstrations against the Modi government’s farm laws early Wednesday, creating a tough challenge for the state’s ruling BJP ahead of assembly elections next spring.
The protesting Assam farmers have demanded a withdrawal or review of the new farm laws, and said they are ready to go to Delhi if the issue is not resolved at the earliest.
Members of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC), the umbrella organisation of farmers’ bodies leading the protests in Delhi, Wednesday staged a sit-in at the Rajgarh area in Guwahati with banners and placards that read “Assam stands with Farmers’ Agitation”, “Scrap anti-farmers laws”.
The protesters said they are waiting for the 3 December talks between the central government and the agitating farmer unions, and will take a decision on going to Delhi after that.
“We will go to Delhi if the government shows no interest in solving our problems. These bills are a strategy to grab our land. The farmers will either be forced to commit suicide or work as daily wagers after selling their land to corporate honchos,” Deben Sarma of the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), one of the organisations under the AIKSCC banner, told ThePrint.
Protests were also witnessed in the Bokakhat town of Golaghat district, where student and farmers organisations chanted anti-government slogans and demanded land rights for farmers.
The state BJP, however, said the protests have been instigated by middlemen affected by the new farm laws, adding that the agitation will have “no impact on assembly elections”.
“These laws are for the benefit of farmers. Earlier, middlemen were reaping profit by denying farmers their due. The real farmers of Assam are with us. The present government has done a great deal for their welfare,” Assam BJP vice-president Pulak Gohain said.
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‘Laws serve corporate interests’
At least 10 farmers organisations participated in the protests under the AIKSCC banner, including the KMSS, the All Assam Farmers Association, and the Nikhil Bharat Krishak Sabha. According to the protesters, the laws “serve corporate interests”.
“It’s a fascist government suited to corporate houses. The Prime Minister has no time to listen to the woes of the people, but finds time to go to Varanasi for puja. Farmers know best which soil is suited for which crop, not someone sitting in air-conditioned offices of corporate houses,” said Sarma.
He echoed the demand raised by Punjab and Haryana farmers that minimum support price (MSP) be made a legal right, and called for the three laws to be repealed.
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