Indian farmers intensify protests against agri reforms

From the state of Punjab in the north to Karnataka in the south, farmers across India intensified their protests on Monday against the 'pro-corporate' reforms in the agricultural sector.

The protests come a day after Indian President Ram Nath Kovid signed into law three farm bills that farmers fear would hurt their interests as they pave the way for the entry of private players into the agricultural market.

The protests started around 7am in the national capital when a group of farmers set on fire a tractor at the iconic India Gate. As local TV channels started beaming the images live, Delhi Police swung into action and arrested five of the protesters.

The Indian government was equally quick to blame the main opposition Congress party for the incident in the capital.

"Congress workers brought a tractor on a truck and set it on fire near India Gate. This is the drama of the Congress. This is why people voted Congress out of power," Indian Minister Prakash Javadekar tweeted.

In Punjab too, known as the rice bowl of India, farmers staged protests across the state. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh of the state's ruling Congress party led the protests, by holding a sit-in at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of freedom fighter Shaheed Bhagat Singh.

In the southern state of Karnataka, which is ruled by India's governing Bharatiya Janata Party, farmers groups who have called for a shutdown staged massive protests, supported by the opposition Congress party.

While the protesters claim the three bills are anti-farmers, the Indian government has said that the reforms will help them get better prices by allowing them to sell their produce at markets and prices of their choice.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last week said that the reforms were necessary to increase farm incomes and productivity. "Our government has created history. Small and marginal farmers will benefit the most from the reforms," he said.

Experts, however, say that the fear of farmers stems out of the fact that most of them currently sell their produce at government-controlled wholesale markets at a minimum support price.

(Source: UNB)