New Delhi: The night before the ‘Bharat Bandh’ by agitating farmers, most channels Monday night discussed the protests, the three contentious bills and the role of opposition parties in all this.
On CNN News 18, the spotlight was on the Congress and how they had tried to introduce similar agricultural reforms when they were in power.
A letter by then agriculture minister NCP’s Sharad Pawar has surfaced where he called for changes to the APMC (Agriculture Produce Market Committee) Act.
To this, Congress spokesperson Aman Pawar responded gamely: “Where did we say that we will open up the market for the private players and not even offer MSP?… He (Pawar) said to suitably amend the APMC Act. But was it amended? It was never amended.”
Shiromani Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa said, “When Congress was trying to bring in the same law in 2012, BJP leaders opposed it in Parliament. When BJP brings in the same law, Congress opposes it and vice versa?”
Rajdeep Sardesai debated whether farmers had pushed the Modi government on the back foot on India Today. He asked BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia: “Do you concede political mishandling or not?”
Bhatia replied, “I would only say this is a very sensitive government. Five rounds of dialogue, the sixth one will also take place (with the farmers). And we are very optimistic that a solution will be reached.”
Admitting that a sizable farming community was on the road protesting and needed to be assuaged, Bhatia added, “There are about 15 crore farmers in the country. I don’t think the entire farming community is out on the roads.”
Swaraj India President Yogendra Yadav, however, did not agree with Bhatia that the Modi government was ‘sensitive’.
“I think the country saw the sensitivity out on display on 26-27 November. You had water cannons, tear gas, ditches, barricades. How sensitive Gaurav, I’m really touched by your concern,” he said.
On Zee News, anchor Sachin Arora asked whether the opposition parties were taking advantage of the farmers.
“Are the farm laws being opposed just to oppose PM Modi?” he asked.
BJP leader Sambit Patra argued that the Congress in its 2019 manifesto had also promised to remove the APMC Act, but is now opposing it.
“We are doing the same today, then why is Rahul Gandhi spreading myths,” asked Patra.
Congress MP Dr Amar Singh responded, “Our manifesto did not say that it will provide an uneven playing field or that there will be no tax on those who will be outside the APMC structure. APMC Act ended in Bihar in 2006, but tell me which foreign investment came there?” asked Singh.
Meanwhile, Rubika Liyaquat on ABP News, began her show by talking about the countdown to India’s first Covid vaccine.
“Which of the two vaccines that have sought permission for trial is better,” she asked.
Both US firm Pfizer’s vaccine candidate and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, developed by the Serum Institute of India, have applied for emergency approval. The government is expected to make a decision on the vaccines in 15 days.
Liyaquat gave details about the two but never really answered her own question about which is better.
She then moved onto the farmers’ protest and the Opposition’s ‘double standards’ for trying to take advantage of them.
On the show, agricultural economist Ashok Gulati also decoded the MSP system: “Even though MSP started in 1965, only 6 per cent farmers sell their crops on MSP. It is only on papers, but the government tries to buy the crops that it can on MSP for the public distribution system, and does so the most from Punjab.”