Farmers hold mass rally, keep pressure on Modi despite climbdown

By Rajendra Jadhav and Mayank Bhardwaj

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Flushed with victory after Prime Minister Narendra Modi caved into demands for agricultural reform laws to be repealed, Indian farmers held a mass rally on Monday to demand minimum support prices be extended to all produce, not just rice and wheat.

The protest movement launched by farmers more than a year ago became the most serious political challenge to the Hindu nationalist government, and resulted in Modi making a surprise commitment on Friday to roll back the reforms.

Thousands gathered for the latest rally in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, where Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party will seek to hold onto power in state elections due early next year.

Since late 2020, thousands of farmers have camped on the outskirts of New Delhi as part of a mass agitation to pressurise Modi into rolling back the reforms.

His climbdown sparked celebrations by farmers, but their leaders immediately warned that the protests would continue until the government promised to introduce a law that would guarantee minimum prices for all crops.

Currently, the government mainly buys rice and wheat at Minimum Support Prices or guaranteed prices, but the safety net benefits barely 6% of India’s millions of farmers.

In a letter addressed to Modi one Sunday, the main farmers’ body said: “Minimum Support Price, based on the comprehensive cost of production, should be made a legal entitlement of all farmers (and) for all agricultural produce . . .”

Farmers also asked for the federal government to withdraw a draft electricity bill, that they fear would lead to state governments withdrawing their right to free or subsidised power, used mainly for irrigation.

The northern state of Punjab, part of India’s grain belt, gives free electricity to the agriculture sector, while some states subsidise power to farmers.

Growers have also asked the government to drop fines and other penalties for burning their fields after harvesting to remove stalk and chaff. The smoke has become a major source of air pollution in Delhi and satellite towns bordering the crop growing northern states.

 

(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav and Mayank Bhardwaj; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.

As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.

Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.

Digital Editor