On Tuesday, leaders from opposition parties and even BJP-ally Shiv Sena came out in support of two Bills prepared by farmer bodies on issues of debt and remunerative prices at a round table of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC). The meeting came just a day after leaders from opposition parties met with Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Parliament to discuss a possible federal front against the BJP-led central government.
The discussion on the Bills saw Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge, former agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, JD(U)'s Sharad Yadav, Sitaram Yechury, General Secretary of CPI-M, Dr Dinesh Trivedi pf TMC, Farooq Abdullah, Kanimozhi and Sanjay Singh of AAP in attendance.
Political leaders, who attended Tuesday's meet, discussed the two Bills and assured that they would push for a special session on farmers' issues in the monsoon session of Parliament. "Those who attended the round table were of the common opinion that instead of presenting these Bills through the Private Member's Bill route, it would be better to bring the government around to include the demands of the farmers in existing policies," said Arvind Sawant, Shiv Sena's Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha
During the massive Kisan Mukti Sansad in November where farmers affiliated to 184 organizations in 25 states of the country came together to pressure the government on fulfilling its promise of 50 per cent profit margin over input costs and seeking favourable policies to free them from the debt of cycle. At the end of the day-long Kisan Sansad, the AIKSCC had finalised two Bills to confer legal entitlements on all farmers. They were; 'The Freedom from Indebtedness Bill 2018' Bill and 'The Farmers' Right to Guaranteed Remunerative Minimum Support Prices for Agricultural Commodities Bill 2018.'
THE BILLS
Farmers had finalised two Bills: ‘The Freedom from Indebtedness Bill 2018’ Bill and ‘The Farmers’ Right to Guaranteed Remunerative Minimum Support Prices for Agricultural Commodities Bill 2018’
