Farmers true to their stance despite several deaths: Rahul Gandhi targets Centre
New Delhi: Extending his support to the ongoing farmers' protest, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday slammed the Central government, stating that the farmers have been protesting against the three agricultural laws despite several deaths at the protest site. "To safeguard their farms and the country, farmers are dying slowly. But they are not afraid and they are true to their stance," Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi with the hashtag #500DeathsAtFarmersProtest. The Congress Wayanad MP's remark comes on the day when Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait is scheduled to meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Speaking to ANI Rakesh Tikait said, "I will meet her around 3 pm today. We will talk about agriculture, health, education and the local farmers."
"Farmers over here do not get a Minimum Support Price (MSP), so I will talk to the Bengal farmers to write a letter to the Central government from here so that they can get a good price for their crops," he said. He said the Centre should guarantee that a bill will be passed on MSP so that farmers over here can be benefitted from it. "We will also urge the West Bengal government to write a letter to the Centre against the three new farm laws and if they already wrote then they should send the reminder to the government because these laws will bring loss to farmers. The Centre should guarantee that a bill will be passed on MSP so that farmers over here can be benefitted from it," said Rakesh Tikait.
Farmers protesting against the Centre's farm laws have been agitating for over six months. Many have camped at the borders of the national capital. Despite several rounds of talks between the Centre and the farmer leaders last year, the deadlock remains. Farmers have been protesting on the different borders of the national capital since November 26 against the three newly enacted farm laws - Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and farm Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.
