Centre rushing agriculture Bills, did not consult any farmers association: Ram Gopal Yadav
Sep 20, 2020
New Delhi [India], September 20 : Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Ram Gopal Yadav on Sunday said that the Central government is rushing with the agricultural Bills and alleged that it did not even consult any farmers association on the issue.
"They are bringing Bills related to agricultural sectors on which over 60 per cent population of the country depend upon, but it appears that there is a compulsion that the ruling party does not want a debate or discussion on these Bills. They are only rushing through these Bills. You have not even consulted any farmers association. You have not discussed even with RSS'S Majdoor Kisan Sangh," Yadav said during a discussion on two agriculture Bills in the Rajya Sabha.
"BJP MP Bhupender Yadav said that agriculture contributes to 12 per cent to GDP, now. When we got freedom, the contribution of agriculture was 50 per cent. The contribution of agriculture in GDP during 2014-15 was 17-18 per cent, You were in power since 2014. Why it reduced then?" he added.
The senior leader further said that over 84 per cent of farmers have less than 2 acres of land, "where will he go to sell their crops? There is no mechanism to address the farmers problem in the bills. Can you guarantee us that farmers will get a better price for their crops? Everything in this Bill is anti-farmers."
The statements came after Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar moved two agriculture Bills in the Upper House.
These Bills are -- Farmers' and Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020. Both of them were passed by the Lower House with a voice vote a couple of days back.
The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 permits the electronic trading of farmers' produce and allows the setting up transaction platforms for facilitating direct online buying and selling of farm products.
The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 provides for a farming agreement prior to the production or rearing of any farm produce. A guaranteed price to be paid for the purchase of farming produce will be mentioned in such agreements.
