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DPA
New Delhi
India’s parliament on Sunday passed a set of controversial farm bills amid strident protests by opposition lawmakers and farmers’ groups.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government says the new laws will make it easier for farmers to sell their produce to big institutional buyers, fetch better prices and free them from the monopoly of traditional middlemen who dominate the trade.
Critics say the changes could lead to the exploitation of farmers by big corporations.
Farmers, especially in the northern states of Punjab and Haryana, fear losses if the government’s guaranteed procurement of farm produce at a minimum price is removed and they are forced to sell to private companies.
Farmers in Haryana staged protest rallies and road blockades at several places as the bills were discussed in parliament, NDTV news channel reported.
The government had no intention of doing away with minimum support prices and farmers were being misled, federal Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said in the Rajya Sabha, or upper house of parliament.
“For decades, the Indian farmer was bound by various constraints and bullied by middlemen. The bills passed by Parliament liberate the farmers from such adversities,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a Twitter post.
The Rajya Sabha saw dramatic scenes as a lawmaker tore a document and others shouted slogans and rushed to the well of the house before the bills were passed by a voice vote. The bills were earlier cleared by the lower house, the Lok Sabha.
Agriculture is the primary source of livelihood for about 58 per cent of India’s population.
New Delhi
India’s parliament on Sunday passed a set of controversial farm bills amid strident protests by opposition lawmakers and farmers’ groups.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government says the new laws will make it easier for farmers to sell their produce to big institutional buyers, fetch better prices and free them from the monopoly of traditional middlemen who dominate the trade.
Critics say the changes could lead to the exploitation of farmers by big corporations.
Farmers, especially in the northern states of Punjab and Haryana, fear losses if the government’s guaranteed procurement of farm produce at a minimum price is removed and they are forced to sell to private companies.
Farmers in Haryana staged protest rallies and road blockades at several places as the bills were discussed in parliament, NDTV news channel reported.
The government had no intention of doing away with minimum support prices and farmers were being misled, federal Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said in the Rajya Sabha, or upper house of parliament.
“For decades, the Indian farmer was bound by various constraints and bullied by middlemen. The bills passed by Parliament liberate the farmers from such adversities,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a Twitter post.
The Rajya Sabha saw dramatic scenes as a lawmaker tore a document and others shouted slogans and rushed to the well of the house before the bills were passed by a voice vote. The bills were earlier cleared by the lower house, the Lok Sabha.
Agriculture is the primary source of livelihood for about 58 per cent of India’s population.
