Q. What is the big message agitating farmers have sent the Narendra Modi government by observing a Bharat bandh?
A. First and foremost, it is a display of unity among farmers everywhere, whether they are from the north, south, east or west. The message that they are sending to the Centre is that the agriculture laws the government has brought in are “anti-farmer” and need to be rescinded. These laws were created and brought in without taking any of the farmer lobbies or farming states into confidence.
Q. You met Union home minister Amit Shah last week and asked him to end the impasse between the Centre and the farmers quickly. Did he give you any assurances on that?
A. I met him to discuss two issues. The first was national security—there have been drones coming in from across the border on a daily basis and dropping weapons in Punjab, an important issue for me because we are a neighbour state to Pakistan. And I naturally also brought up the farm bills issue at the meeting. I said that the time has come for the government to make a decision. I feel that whatever can be done to ease these tensions should be done. If minimum support price (MSP—the rate at which the government buys crops from farmers in case they fail to sell them) is done away with, and the mandi system or the arthiya (commission agents) system is removed, then what will happen to their families and the future of their children? Almost 75 per cent of Punjabis are directly or indirectly connected to farming. How are the farmers who own less than five acres of land to survive? These are the poor people who are braving the cold to demand a resolution.
Denne historien er fra December 21, 2020-utgaven av India Today.
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Denne historien er fra December 21, 2020-utgaven av India Today.
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Shuttle Star
Ashwini Ponnappa was the only Indian to compete in the inaugural edition of BDMNTN-XL, a new international badminton tourney with a new format, held in Indonesia
There's No Planet B
All Living Things-Environmental Film Festival (ALT EFF) returns with 72 films to be screened across multiple locations from Nov. 22 to Dec. 8
AMPED UP AND UNPLUGGED
THE MAHINDRA INDEPENDENCE ROCK FESTIVAL PROMISES AN INTERESTING LINE-UP OF OLD AND NEW ACTS, CEMENTING ITS REPUTATION AS THE 'WOODSTOCK OF INDIA'
A Musical Marriage
Faezeh Jalali has returned to the Prithvi Theatre Festival with Runaway Brides, a hilarious musical about Indian weddings
THE PRICE OF FREEDOM
Nikhil Advani’s adaptation of Freedom at Midnight details our tumultuous transition to an independent nation
Family Saga
RAMONA SEN's The Lady on the Horse doesn't lose its pace while narrating the story of five generations of a family in Calcutta
THE ETERNAL MOTHER
Prayaag Akbar's new novel delves into the complexities of contemporary India
TURNING A NEW LEAF
Since the turn of the century, we have lost hundreds of thousands of trees. Many had stood for centuries, weathering storms, wars, droughts and famines.
INDIA'S BEATING GREEN HEART
Ramachandra Guha's new book-Speaking with Nature-is a chronicle of homegrown environmentalism that speaks to the world
A NEW LEASE FOR OLD FILMS
NOSTALGIA AND CURIOSITY BRING AUDIENCES BACK TO THE THEATRES TO REVISIT MOVIES OF THE YESTERYEARS
