Govt’s proposal to pause farm laws and form a committee just a trap that farmers are all set to reject

Next week, the country will celebrate the birth of the republic. But this year’s celebration will be different from the carnival of yesteryears. While this time the celebration will miss a foreign celebrity, it would also be held under the shadow of the nearly two-month-old Satyagraha by the farmers of the country demanding scrapping of the three farm laws. Obviously it implies that nothing is good for the health of the great nation and its precious republic.

More than the absence of the foreign dignitary, it is the decision of the protesting farmers to bring out their own tractor parade, having various tableaus, coinciding with the government celebration that has been creating trepidation in the ruling party circle. Top bosses of the government who had mustered the audacity to challenge the moral power and strength of the farmers with the threat to show them their right place, are finding themselves in the state of amnesia.

The Modi government which till two days back was determined not to listen to any request or argument of the farmers, had a sudden change of heart and came out with the offer to suspend the three contentious farm laws for one and half years and set up a joint committee to discuss the Acts to end the stalemate.

The farmer leaders did not immediately accept the proposal and said they will revert after their internal consultations. The next round of meeting has been scheduled for January 22.

The president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, Joginder Singh Ugrahan however, made the farmers’ response clear. "The government proposed to suspend the farm laws for one and a half years. We rejected the proposal but since it has come from the government, we will meet tomorrow and deliberate over it," he said on Wednesday after the tenth round of talks concluded.

Ever since the farmers resorted to Satyagraha, Narendra Modi continues to maintain an adverse attitude towards them. He has not shown the courtesy of expressing condolences for the passing away of 123 farmers who have died during the agitation. His attitude has further encouraged the BJP-ruled states of Haryana and UP to perpetrates tortures and repression on farmers.

If the government was really serious about resolving the crisis, Modi could have directly interacted with them and come out with this proposal. The farmers would not have had to meet with the unnatural deaths on Delhi’s borders. The scenario could have been entirely different. As autocrats are basically arrogant, the issue dragged on.

In fact, this is not a sincere and honest offer. This is a trap that has been laid out by the Modi government. The farmer leaders have rightly rejected the offer. What was most interesting is that the government came out with the proposal to constitute a committee to review the laws. Unlike the Supreme Court committee, this would have representatives of the farmers and government.

True enough, this is the catch point. If the farmers accept this offer on the presumption that their presence on the committee will force the government to bring about fundamental changes in the laws, then they would be committing hara-kiri.

Yet another example of the insincerity of the government was manifest in its reluctance to accept the farmers’ demand that the NIA will not harass their ilk and supporters. During the meeting, farmer leaders also raised the issue of NIA notices being served to some farmers, alleging it was being done just to harass those supporting the agitation, to which the government representatives said they will ‘look into the matter’.

Shiv Kumar Sharma “Kakkaji” from Madhya Pradesh likened the “repression” to what the British had done during the freedom struggle. “In this entire movement, Gandhi is our guiding light. The British would carry out repression and lathi-charges and send people to jail but Gandhiji would still talk to them and hold no grudge. We too are dealing with this repression and accepting the suffering,” he said.

He said “It’s our tapasya and sadhna (penance and prayer). We are on the path of Gandhism. They should evaluate what path they are on. We have said over and over again that ‘Hamla chahe jaisa bhi ho, haath hamara nahi uthega (However the attack comes, we shall not raise our hand)’. The people of India will give them a reply.”

It is not the issue of welfare and wellbeing of the farmers that was in the mind of the government; instead it is the sly and ominous design to break the agitation that prompted it to present the proposal.

If the government is really sincere in helping the farmers, it should bring a law and legalise MSP. Let the new committee discuss the three laws. The action of the government gives rise to suspicion about the real intentions of the government. It simply endorses the insincerity and double-speak of the government and its minister.

In a significant development for the first time during the two month old farmers Satyagraha, RSS Sarkaryavah (general secretary) Suresh (Bhaiyyaji) Joshi suggested that the government deal with the farmers’ agitation with “sensitivity” and that a “middle ground must be found and both sides must work to find a solution”. This is a tactical ploy to white wash the actions of Modi government. Instead of throwing his weight behind farmers and forcing the government to accede to their demands, Joshi simply remarked; “it is not good for the health of society for any agitation to run for too long. We just want the agitation (to) end quickly now”. Since he is the No. 2 of the ruling party’s parental organisation, his words carry the authority of the Sangh.

While the Modi government is striving to create confusion amongst the farmers, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that Narendra Modi was working to create “monopolies” of four-five people and the new farm laws were part of that project, while pointing out that the country had not yet understood the enormity of this tragedy.

Rahul said: “A huge tragedy is unfolding and it is not only about farmers. This is about the country’s future, about the country’s ability to be strong, to stand tall among other nations. What we are seeing is industry after industry — airports, infrastructure, power, telecom, retail — across the board, three-four-five people now own this country.”

“People’s independence was being snatched and youngsters will not get job under such monopolistic control. It is a tragedy that the entire country is watching this ridiculous show. It is a tragedy that shows the country itself is not able to understand the depth of what is happening,” he added.

(IPA Service)

(Views expressed are personal)