Govt suppressing democratic rights of farmers to protest: Cong

The Congress on Thursday hit out at the government for using force against farmers, alleging it was suppressing their democratic right to protest by stopping them from entering Delhi to voice their concerns against the new farm laws.

The Congress on Thursday hit out at the government for using force against farmers, alleging it was suppressing their democratic right to protest by stopping them from entering Delhi to voice their concerns against the new farm laws. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the farmers are standing resolutely in the face of "cruelty" perpetrated by the Haryana Police which used water cannons and teargas to disperse hundreds of farmers who were marching towards Delhi from Punjab.

Attacking the government, party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said it has taken away everything from farmers, including the Minimum Support Price (MSP), and is dousing them using water cannons, while it gives loan waiver, banks and airports to corporates. Sharing a video of the incident, Rahul Gandhi tweeted, "The country's farmers are standing resolutely in the face of Modi government's cruelty against them." He also shared a verse in Hindi lauding the courage of farmers protesting the farm laws.

Priyanka Gandhi said on Twitter, "Instead of listening to the voice of farmers protesting against the laws that snatch the minimum support price from them, the BJP government attacks them with water in this cold." "Everything is being taken away from farmers and banks, loan waivers, airports, railway stations are being distributed to the capitalists," she alleged in her tweet in Hindi. Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also hit out at the central and Haryana governments, asking what message do Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister M L Khattar want to give by pitting soldiers and farmers.

"They are conspiring to push the country into civil war and that too on the occasion of Constitution Day," Surjewala alleged in a tweet in Hindi. At a virtual press conference, party spokesperson Gourav Vallabh asked why the Centre was not allowing the farmers to exercise their constitutional right to protest.

"The BJP government is apathetic to farmers' rights after mortgaging them to their corporate friends," he alleged. "Today marks a black day in history due to several reasons. It is highly unfortunate and denigrating that the present government is dedicated to only protecting the rights of a few," he said.

Vallabh said it is democratic and constitutional right of farmers to protest and voice their concern which the government is suppressing by the use of force. Vallabh said that on the eve of Constitution Day, farmers were stopped from entering Delhi with force in a number of instances. "Does the constitution not guarantee rights for our farmers? Has the BJP government reserved the rights only for their privileged friends only. Can farmers enter Delhi? Or is Delhi reserved for people in suit-boot," he asked.

He asked why the government was so scared of farmers and why is it not engaging and holding discussions with them. The Congress leader said the BJP government had promised to double farmers' income by 2022, but their situation has worsened in the saffron party's tenure as agricultural incomes fell to a 14-year low in 2018-19 and agricultural products witnessed the worst price slump in 18 years the same year. Farmers and police in Haryana faced off at a bridge with the Ghaggar river flowing below, with tractors and trucks lined up and people waving black flags and shouting slogans.

Farmers in Punjab and Haryana are protesting against the new farm laws and farm unions have given a call of 'Delhi Chalo' to voice their concerns. Haryana has sealed its borders with Punjab and the farmers seeking to reach Delhi clashed with the Haryana police after they broke barricades and the police used water cannons to stop them.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)