BHAINSWAL: Thousands of farmers in a politically important Indian state on Friday rallied in opposition to new agricultural laws, signalling growing support for a months-long campaign to have the government reforms scrapped.
Angry at what they see as legislation that benefits private buyers at the expense of growers, tens of thousands of farmers have been camped on the outskirts of the capital, New Delhi, for more than two months, calling for the withdrawal of laws introduced in September.
Much of the initial support for the protests has come from rice and wheat growers from northern India, particularly opposition-ruled Punjab state.
But in a sign of a growing challenge to the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, thousands of farmers rallied on Friday in Uttar Pradesh state to show their support for the protests.
“Everybody here is going to join the movement,” said Jitendra Singh, 55, a sugarcane farmer at the rally in Bhainswal village.
Hundreds of police, many armed and wearing riot gear, stood by but there was no trouble.
Uttar Pradesh is India’s largest state and a critical battleground state in elections.
While Modi’s party commands a comfortable majority in parliament, the support for the protests from Uttar Pradesh’s politically influential sugarcane farmers will be a worry.
The farmers say the laws mean the end of long-standing support prices for their crops and will leave them vulnerable to the whims of big buyers. They are demanding that the laws be annulled.
The government says reform of the inefficient agriculture sector will open up new opportunities for farmers and while it has offered some concessions, it has ruled out withdrawing the laws.
India’s agriculture minister defended new agriculture reform laws in parliament on Friday, dampening hopes of a quick settlement with tens of thousands of farmers who have been demanding their repeal by blocking three highways connecting the capital to northern India for over two months.
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar made no new offer to resume stalled talks with the farmers, who believe the legislation will devastate their earnings by ending guaranteed prices for wheat and rice and force them to sell to powerful corporations at cheaper prices.
Singh said the laws will lead to more private investment in agriculture and raise earnings by setting up warehouses where farmers can store crops and sell them when prices are favourable.
The deadlock turned violent on Jan 26, India’s Republic Day, when thousands of farmers riding tractors stormed India’s historic Red Fort and unfurled a flag of the minority Sikh community, which is leading the protests.
Clashes between the farmers and government forces left one protester dead and nearly 400 police officers injured.
On Saturday, farmers plan to blockade highways across the country for three hours to draw attention to their cause. They say they will not stop their protests until the laws are repealed.
Opposition leaders, including Anand Sharma of the Congress party and Satish Mishra of the Bahujan Samaj Party, accused the government of violating the human rights of farmers by disconnecting electricity and water supplies at protest sites and cutting internet access.
They also objected to the authorities’ sharp increase in security at the three main protest sites outside New Delhi’s border aimed at stopping the farmers from entering the capital.
Tomar accused the opposition parties of inciting the farmers by falsely claiming that their land would be taken over by big corporations under contract farming laws.
“This is not true,” he said.
Furthermore, much to the government’s annoyance, the protests have drawn increasing international scrutiny, with celebrities including pop star Rihanna and environment campaigner Greta Thunberg announcing their support for the farmers.
