Farmers burn copies of farm laws, want repeal

Members of various farmers’ organisations burn copies of the three agriculture laws near the BJP office in Amritsar on Saturday. Pic/PTI

Members of the Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, a farmers' body, burned copies on Saturday of the three farm laws introduced by the Centre a year ago, demanding their repeal. The protests were held in various parts of the state with the farmers assembling in small groups wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing owing to the pandemic. Recalling the year-long protest by farmers across the country and their sacrifices during the New Delhi stir, the Sangam's State general secretary P Shanmugam urged Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin to take steps to pass a resolution against the farm laws in the Assembly.

"Our Chief Minister wrote to the Union government recently seeking the withdrawal of the three farm laws for the welfare of the farming community. Stalin should pass a resolution against these legislations in the state Assembly soon," he said.

At Tambaram, near Chennai airport, 15 people led by Shanmugam gathered to burn copies of the laws. They raised slogans denouncing the Centre for enacting the anti-farmer laws and burned copies of the legislation. Soon, policemen at the spot doused the flames with a bucket full of water. "Our protest, coinciding on June 5, the day on which the BJP-led government at the Centre promulgated the ordinances in 2020, was peaceful," Shanmugam said.

His association members staged the agitation throughout the state keeping in mind the Covid-19 safety norms. In certain districts such as Tiruvarur, Thanjavur and Nagapattinam, the CPI and CPI (M) have extended support to us, Shanmugam said. The farmers have been protesting against the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion & Facilitation), Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

Farmers also burnt copies of the Centre's three farm laws near residences of BJP leaders and at other places in Punjab and Haryana on Saturday, observing the day of the promulgation of the farm ordinances last year as ‘Sampoorna Kranti Diwas'.

Farmers carrying black flags raised slogans against the BJP-led central government for not scrapping the legislation which, they said, will "destroy" the farming community. Security personnel were deployed and barricades put up near the protest sites to maintain law and order. The call for observing ‘Sampoorna Kranti Diwas' was given by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of the protesting farmer unions, spearheading the agitation against the farm laws. Protests were held in Amritsar, Jalandhar, Mohali, Abohar, Hoshiarpur, Barnala, Nawanshahr, Patiala, Chandigarh, Sirsa, Jind, Karnal, Panipat and Ambala.

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