On Sunday afternoon, a group of farmers in Punjab took out a march from the Attari-Wagah border to the Golden Gate in Amritsar in protest of the farm laws that were passed in the parliament last year in September.
"We want the repeal of three farm laws. We'll continue our protest in Delhi until the government revokes these laws," says Kabil Singh, one of the farmers.
Even though the bills have been passed in the parliament and have been signed into law by the President, the centre did not bring them into effect yet.
What are the three farm laws?
The Farmer’s Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protections) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 are the three main bills that were passed by the parliament in September 2020. President Ram Nath Kovind signed these bills into law within a week.
Also read: Small, marginal farmers who cultivate, occupy government land will get proprietary rights in Punjab
As per the survey, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protections) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 will enable the farmers in their engagement with processors, wholesalers, aggregators, large retailers, exporters and will offer a level playing field.
Why are the farmers protesting?
The protesting farmers believe that the laws are biased against them and have been passed without consultation with appropriate stakeholders. They fear that the laws are pro-corporate and could weaken government-regulated mandis, also known as Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs).
The farmers fear that the disbanding of the Mandi system will bring hurdles in getting an assured price for their crops and the commission agents who support them for loans will be out of business.
Also Read: Punjab CM presses Amit Shah to repeal Farm laws & break prolonged imbroglio
Farmers unions mostly from Punjab and Haryana are demanding an unconditional repeal of all three laws and also a legal guarantee on Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for their crops.
Amidst the unending deadlock between the government and the farmers, a date is yet to be set for the laws to formally come into effect.