JOIN USThere is no end to the debate on farm laws, says Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
Amendments to farm laws were met with responses of agitation and protests across the country, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman lauded Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar for having done all the groundwork and sourcing inputs and suggesting it to the Cabinet.
Ever since the farm laws were passed in Parliament, there has been uproar in all states due to the lack of clarity. In an interview by The Indian Express, Sitharaman said that “there is no end to the debate because the debate is not on the merit of the matter.” She added, “Ask us that one question where we can’t answer you.”
According to the Union Minister, the farm laws were what “most parties had committed themselves to” and the incumbent government managed to pull off this feat.
PM Narendra Modi assured the farmers and reiterated on Monday that the mechanism of minimum support price (MSP) will not be affected and continue to stay.
“The Government will continue to purchase farm produce, the minimum support price (MSP) mechanism will continue and the ‘Krishi mandi’ (agriculture markets) will continue to work as it has been working,” said Modi.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar too followed suit and said that the amendments made are in the interest of farmers, adding that it will raise their income.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that the agriculture-related laws are a "death sentence" for farmers and that their voice has been crushed both inside and outside Parliament.
"The agriculture laws are a death sentence to our farmers. Their voice is crushed in Parliament and outside. Here is proof that democracy in India is dead," Gandhi said on Twitter.
The Aam Aadmi Party, however, refuted the claims would benefit farmers, and claimed that the farm reform laws will push the farming sector into the hands of private firms. "The central government brought those bills to hand over the reins of agriculture from farmer to corporate houses,” AAP's Gautam Buddh Nagar unit president Bhupendra Judaun alleged.
(With inputs from agencies)