Did the government talk to farmers before enacting farm laws? Know from the answer of RTI
New Delhi : Regarding the agriculture laws, the central government has been claiming that it had negotiated with farmers and stakeholders before enacting the law, but in response to the RTI filed by the TV channel NDTV, it has come to light that the government has had talks with farmers, but there is no record. The Modi government is facing criticism from the opposition and farmers’ organization for not consulting on the new law. However, the government says it held several rounds of discussions with farmers.
From Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar to Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, they have said that the farmers of the country have been negotiated and consulted. On Monday, during Facebook Live, Narendra Tomar said that these laws were being discussed in the country for a very long time. Several committees were formed, after which several consultations were held across the country. At the same time, Ravi Shankar Prasad also said that extensive consultation, training and outreach programs were conducted with stakeholders on agricultural laws.
An RTI was filed seeking talks and suggestions from farmers regarding agriculture laws, seeking answers on government’s interaction and consultation with farmer groups on all three laws. On December 22, the reply from the Chief Public Information Officer said that the government has no record of this.
Significantly, the farmers who have been agitating on the borders of Delhi for the last 34 days against the agricultural laws of the central government are stuck on the demand for withdrawal of the law. There will once again be a dialogue between the farmer and the government today. Today, on Wednesday, the seventh round of talks will be held between the Center and the agitating farmers’ organizations. However, the protesting farmers’ organizations said that the discussion will only be on the modalities to repeal the three agricultural laws and to provide legal guarantee of the minimum support price (MSP). Before this, six rounds of talks have been held between the government and the farmers’ organizations and all of them remained uninterested.
