Union leaders describe SC ruling as ‘a trap’
As expected, the ninth round of talks between farmers’ unions and the Modi government has once again failed to yield any results, the agitating farmers have decided to go ahead and intensify their stir with a tractor rally on January 26. Declaring unequivocally that a repeal of the farm laws was the only way out of the current imbroglio, they said the agitation will continue till the Centre accepts all the demands.
“It was a 120 per cent failure. We suggested that the government remove the changes made to the Essential Commodities Act instead of scrapping it altogether. But the Agriculture Minister has not said anything on this,” said Dr Darshanpal, who was one among the 40 farmers’ unions leaders negotiating with the Centre. In an oblique reference to the Supreme Court appointed expert committee, they also said they want continued direct communication with the centre, “not brokers”. This has put the Centre at its wits’ end as its delaying and other tactics have failed to deter the resolve of the tens of thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana who have staged sit-ins at five key entry points to Delhi since November 26 in the extreme cold weather (temperatures dropping to two to three degrees Celsius), rain, and hailstorms, to protest against the legislations passed in a jiffy in September last year without adhering to the due parliamentary procedures and consulting all stakeholders. Since the beginning of the protest, as many as 78 farmers have given their lives who sat at the doorsteps of the national capital.
The three contentious laws are the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 whose implementation has been put on hold by the Supreme Court, as well as a legal guarantee for federally fixed MSPs. These laws remove restrictions on the purchase and sale of farm produce, lift constraints on stockpiling under the 1955 Essential Commodities Act, and enable contract farming based on written agreements. Farmers contend that the laws will hurt their livelihoods, erode their bargaining power and leave them at the mercy of powerful agribusinesses. The government insists the laws would ‘open new markets’ and ‘increase their income’ by eliminating middlemen.
Union leaders alleged that the Modi Government is playing meeting-meeting with farmers and it is attempting to dupe and deceive them by giving date after date and it is trying to tire them out. They are not amused by the SC ruling which they called “a trap”.
“Government will keep giving us dates now and will delay the repeal of laws. We have seen in the past that the SC gives all the decisions in favour of the government. We don’t want these laws and we will go back home only after the laws are repealed,” Jagmeet Sandu from Ropar town of Punjab said.
The farmers’ unions dismissed the SC committee as “a government ploy”, and pointed out that all its four members have actively advocated the reforms.
Farmers’ representatives are of the firm view that the Supreme Court does not and cannot have any role in resolving the political deadlock over “anti-farmers” laws enacted by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under pressure from corporates led by Ambani and Adani.
“The discretion to repeal the laws, which an autocratic Prime Minister and his Government have made in order to help his crony capitalist friends lies at the doorstep of the Government and not the Supreme Court.”
Even legal luminaries and former top judges expressed surprise at the Supreme Court order.
Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) KG Balakrishnan said, “Courts do not stay any legislation before deciding upon its constitutionality. Here, instead of first going into the constitutionality of the laws in question, the Court stayed the three laws and delegated a committee with the task of making recommendations on it after hearing from farmers. To my memory, this has never happened.”
Eminent jurist Dushyant Dave, who resigned from the post of Supreme Court Bar Association president in protest, described the top court’s decision as ‘astonishing’.
“The Supreme Court’s decisions to stay the implementation of the farm laws and constitute a four-member panel raise very serious question marks about the purpose and object underlying the decisions,” said Dave adding that the court was clearly making forays into uncharted territory and into a very serious political issue confronting the nation.
“But the same court in December 2019/ January 2020 flatly declined to grant a stay on the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act, as a result of which tens of innocent lives were lost. Thousands of properties were destroyed. Even a few weeks ago, the bench (led by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde, who also heads the farm law bench) declined to stay the operation of the ordinance issued in Uttar Pradesh and other states on the issue of ‘love jihad’, as a result of which tens of innocent people have gone to jail under prima facie draconian and unconstitutional laws,” the jurist alleged.
A political analyst says, “It’s not so much of a mystery if one goes back to what SC has been in the last two years. The compromising judgements on Babri Masjid vs Ram Mandir title suit, letting go the main culprits of the Babri Masjid demolition have already made clear where the SC stands when it comes to Hindutva politics.”
However, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar insists that the government is committed to follow the Supreme Court’s order. Tomar, who is leading the 3-member government negotiating team, said, “The government and farmers should continue looking for solutions, formally and informally. Whatever we can agree on during these talks will decide the future course of action.”
The four-member committee comprises Bhupinder Singh Mann, President BKU; Dr. Pramod Kumar Joshi, International policy head; agricultural economist Ashok Gulati and Anil Ghanwat from Shetkari Sangathan. However, the committee suffered a setback before it took off when BKU president Mann recused himself from it.
“As a farmer myself and a union leader, in view of the prevailing sentiments and apprehensions amongst the farm unions and the public in general, I am ready to sacrifice any position offered or given to me so as to not compromise the interests of Punjab and farmers of the country,” said Mann.
Besides this, the attempts to vilify and brand the ongoing farmers’ movement as ‘Khalistani and anti-national, Naxalites, Maoists and supported by Pakistan and China’ have failed to deter the determination of the farmers. Referring to the banners of banned outfit ‘Sikh for Justice’, even the government’s attorney stated in the Court that ‘Khalistanis’ have infiltrated farmers’ protest.
But this propaganda has found few takers. All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) leader Vijoo Krishnan told Radiance Viewsweekly that the government stands exposed for its attempts to malign the peaceful agitation. “People themselves are coming out to counter such narratives as they have seen through the campaign of the right wing and how the accusations have shifted, he added.
“Divide and rule is the policy of the BJP government and Hindutva brigade is expert in Hindu-Muslim conflicts. But this time, they have locked horns with farmers, who are out of their syllabus,” said Jagdish Singh, a farmer from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh.
Speaking to Radiance Viewsweekly, All India Kisan Sabha general secretary Hannan Mollah said that the farmers’ agitation will be intensified in the days to come. There are plans for Gherao Governor Houses in several states between January 20 and 25. These states include West Bengal, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu and several others.
As a mark of protest against the black laws, farmers in many parts of Punjab and Haryana, as well as those protesting against the agriculture laws along the borders of Delhi, burned copies of the farm laws on the festival of Lohri.
The Modi government and BJP leaders are now feeling heat of the growing resentment of the farmers as they have banned the entry of BJP-JJP leaders and workers in over 60 villages in Haryana. Residents of many villages in the state have also passed resolutions calling for a boycott of ministers and MLAs of the BJP-JJP.
Earlier, BJP and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar was unable to hold a Kisan Mahapanchayat in Karnal as his helicopter could not land while the venue of the event was ransacked by angry farmers. Sensing this, BJP called off its reach-out programme which has planned 700 press conferences, 700 Chaupals, and mega rallies to explain to farmers ‘good’ clauses in these laws.
Union leaders said now this movement is becoming a nationwide and mass movement. They also alleged that the government is harassing people who are helping the movement.
“The social workers who are sending buses to Delhi or providing financial help for the martyred farmers are being harassed repeatedly in the name of the investigation by the NIA – National Investigation Agency.”
All major opposition parties are supporting the agitation. Main opposition Congress observed 15 January as “Kisan Adhikar Diwas” across the country and marches to the governor houses. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi asserted that the party won’t relent till the Modi government repeals ‘black laws’ which he said will destroy farmers.
Echoing the protesting farmers’ sentiments, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind vice president Engineer Mohammad Salim called upon the Prime Minister to come forward, shun the crony capitalists for whom he has enacted these laws, and stand with India’s farmers to understand their anguish and suffering and immediately announce repeal of the laws.
The protest is now entering into its third month; restlessness can be felt among the agitating farmers.
“Sarkar Kisano ke sabr ka imtehan na le aur jald se jald mamle na niptara kare (The government should not test the patience of farmers and should focus on resolving this issue at the earliest).” This was stated by farmer leader Shivkumar Kakji. As the confrontation is growing between farmers’ unions and the centre, this is for the first time in his six-year rule that the Prime Minister Modi is facing a mass movement which has become his Achilles heel.