Why is there no trust between farmers and the government?

Posted on 2nd Dec 2020 by rohit kumar

Negotiations between the central government and the farmers' representatives who are opposing the new agricultural laws may have been initiated late, but the consensus is that negotiations are the right option.

 

During the conversation, both sides will get an opportunity to listen to each other's arguments directly in front of the media. Representatives of 32 farmers of Punjab were involved in the talks on Tuesday at 3 p.m. and representatives from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and all other states were involved in the talks at seven in the evening.

 

The government offered to form a committee to listen to the farmers' problems and find a solution, which the farmers turned down. This meeting ended unscathed. Now the representatives of the government and farmers are going to meet again on Thursday at 12 noon.

 

The conversation is fine, but many people believe that there is a strict lack of trust between the government and the farmers. Both have no faith in each other's arguments and arguments and even there is a lack of trust between the central government and the state governments which are not happy with these three new laws.

 

Mumbai-based economic expert Vivek Kaul says that before bringing the law to the central government, farmers and state governments should have agreed to it.

 

According to him, there is no need to reform the agricultural sector but no one has fully studied the ground truth and got the bill passed in haste in Parliament.

 

He says, "As usual, the central government did not go in tafsil. He only talked about how the farmers would benefit from this law and aggressively kept their point. But the problems and laws faced by farmers Nobody talked about the problems in implementing. "

 

He told the BBC, "More than a lack of trust, the government has Select a way to operate. It has taken a decision and is bent on implementing it. Talking and discussing is not the achievement of this government."

 

They compare this decision of the government with the hasty decisions like demonetization and GST.

 

After all, why do the farmers not trust the government?

 

According to Maharashtra farmer Dinesh Kulkarni, talks between his organization Bhartiya Kisan Sangh and the government started in June. The Indian Farmers Union, which is associated with the RSS, is that in the new law, not everything is in favor of the farmers, but instead of taking to the streets in protest against it, the dialogue with the government should be continued.

 

Dinesh Kulkarni says, "Many of our peasant brothers in North India have no faith in the government. There is a misunderstanding between the two which can only be resolved through dialogue."

 

But Dharmendra Malik, spokesperson of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh in Muzaffarnagar city of western Uttar Pradesh, says, "The farmers do not have any issue of trust in the government. The issue is that all three of these new laws are anti-farmer. The government's talk or Modi's assurance There is nothing to trust. "

 

He said that before bringing the law, the government should have talked to all types of farmers, their institutions, experts in the agricultural sector, and farmer leaders and kept the ground truth in mind.

 

Says Dharmendra Malik, "The government only talked to the BJP's pro-farmer peasants and thought they had talked the most. Now our strong opposition has given them a sense of our power."

 

Do not even trust the Prime Minister?

 

On the other hand, the government is seen using the media and social media aggressively to persuade the farmers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly said that these new laws will help in increasing the income of farmers.

 

One of the goals of the government is to double the income of farmers by 2022. The government's new step is said to be an attempt to achieve this objective.

 

Many departments of the government are also engaged in promoting the Prime Minister's message and promoting the government's 'good intentions'.

 

Ramesh Chand, a member of the Agriculture Committee of NITI Aayog, said in a conversation with PTI News Agency two days ago that farmers have not fully or properly understood the new agricultural laws. He stressed that these new laws will increase the income of farmers.

 

There has also been a lack of trust between the central government and some state governments.

 

Last month, the Kisan Sabha, Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh (RKM), based on more than 180 farmer groups, wrote a letter to the Chief Ministers of all states, demanding that they oppose the three agricultural reform laws. The RKM demanded the state governments to take up the matter in the Supreme Court against the Center for violating the rights of the states on the making of laws by the Modi government on agriculture-related issues.

 

The Akali Dal, which is in the BJP-led coalition NDA itself at the center, broke away from the coalition by not relying on its government.

 

Another pro-BJP National Democratic Party MP in Rajasthan, Hanuman Beniwal, has threatened to leave the NDA, saying, "RLP is a constituent party of NDA, but its strength is farmers and soldiers. If the Modi government does not take any quick action, Then I may have to consider being an NDA ally. "

 

He tweeted, "Mr. Amit Shah, because of the feeling of the ongoing farmer movement in the country, immediately withdraw the three bills related to agriculture immediately and implement the entire recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission and farmers in Delhi To be given a proper place for a quick talk in their way! "

 

Vivek Kaul says that therefore "dialogue between the central government and the state governments is very important on this issue."

 

What do the farmers not trust about the government?

 

Farmers want the government to continue the minimum support price (MSP). Dharmendra Malik says that by amending the new law, the government should make sure that this provision is included in it.

 

Modi has assured that this will continue but farmers want it to be guaranteed by law. The biggest buyer of rice and wheat in Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh is the government itself.

 

The government buys 90 percent of the rice and wheat from farmers in Punjab. Farmers in Punjab and Haryana fear that under the government-licensed mandis, ie APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee), those who buy their products will not buy it under the new law. He is also afraid that the government will abolish the MSP.

 

But according to Vivek Kaul, it will not be easy for the government to do this at once. He says, "The government can reduce its purchases from farmers, so that the Food Corporation of India (FCI) does not have to keep more products in stock."

 

According to him, the buying process by the MSP and the government is one aspect of the coin which is related to supply. The other side of the coin is related to demand. The government sells the product at a subsidized rate due to which there is no reduction in demand. Why would a private trader sell at a discounted rate?

 

Dharmendra Malik says that farmers demand that even outside the Agricultural Produce Market Committee, private traders should be taxed in the same way as they are imposed inside it. There is no provision in the new law.

 

Another major objection to the new law to the farmers is the inclusion of 'contract farming' or 'trade market'. Farmers are opposing this because they feel that 'industrialists like Ambani and Adani have this open invitation to enter the agricultural sector'.

 

Malik says that the field is being cleared for industrialists. The next step of the government will be for them only.

 

According to the government, this will increase the income of farmers and save them from exploitation by middlemen. But farmers do not trust them.

 

Vivek Kaul says, "It is unlikely that big industrialists and big corporate companies of the corporate world will be able to do contract farming or set up a trade market without the support of the state government. It will be impossible for them to contact small farmers directly. "

 

So now that the government has started talking to the farmers, will they be able to establish trust in each other?

 

Dharmendra Malik says that the first round of talks was completed on Tuesday, many rounds of talks can take place right now.

 

"Modi Ji is under pressure and he must fulfill our demand." On the other hand, Prime Minister Modi on Monday counted once again the benefits of the new agricultural law in Varanasi and there was no indication that he would accept the demand of the farmers.

 

Everyone's eyes are now on further talks.