Congress only paid lip service to farmers during its rule: Goa BJP

The BJP's Goa unit on Friday accused the Congress of paying lip service to the cause of farmers in the country during its rule at the Centre for decades.

Speaking to reporters, BJP state spokesman and former Member of Parliament Narendra Sawaikar said the Congress had failed to provide relief to farmers during its entire tenure.

Farmers' welfare was never at the core of the politics played by the Congress, which has only paid lip service over the years, he said.

The three new farm reform bills passed by the Narendra Modi-led government will go a long way in giving freedom to farmers to sell their produce to anyone they want, Sawaikar said.

Farmers can even have an agreement with companies to sell their produce, and there is also an inbuilt redressal system in the bills in case of disputes, he said.

In its 2019 Lok Sabha election manifesto, the Congress had assured to bring a law on par with what has been done by the Central government now, the BJP leader said, adding that the opposition parties were protesting for the sake of it.

The Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 were passed in both the houses of Parliament amid protests from the opposition parties.

On Wednesday, 18 opposition parties urged President Ram Nath Kovind not to sign the contentious bills and alleged that they were passed "unconstitutionally" in "complete disregard" of parliamentary norms.