Farm laws: DMK urges PM to hold talks with agitating farmers

Extending support to farmers protesting outside Delhi against Centre's three contentious farm laws, the DMK on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold talks with them and demanded withdrawing the legislations. DMK president M K Stalin and senior party leaders staged protests in different parts of the state,extending support to the farmers, mostly from Punjab, who have been agitating for nearly 10 days outside the national capital.

Stalin, Leader of Opposition in Tamil Nadu Assembly, led a well-attended protest demonstration here, which happens to be the native district of Chief Minister K Palaniswami. In his address, Stalin said the farmers were protesting against the laws on issues including lack of assurance on minimum support price (MSP) and the "corporates enjoying the freedom to decide to whom the produce should be sold and at what rate." "In the name of doing away with agents, these laws are enslaving farmers to big traders, firms owning large godowns and multi-national exporters," Stalin said.

He wondered if the laws would allow continuance of, among others, direct procurement centres and distribution of essential commodities through fair price shops. Stalin asked what was the 'haste' in passing the laws during the COVID-19 pandemic and raised a number of questions such as whether the laws had provisions for waiver of farm loans, fertiliser subsidy and minimum employment guarantee for farm labourers.

"None of these. That is why the farmers are opposing these and so are we," he said. "Protests should continue till the three legislations are withdrawn. The Prime Minister should invite the farmers and hold talks with them," he added.

The BJP should immediately convene Parliament and repeal the laws."Till then, the DMK will stand by this protest," Stalin said. He also took a swipe at Chief Minister K Palaniswami for supporting the Central laws and demanded that the state Assembly adopt a resolution against them.

By doing it, Palaniswami will get "forgiveness," Stalin said. Taking on Palaniswami for the chief minister's recent attacks on the DMK on 2G spectrum allocation scam, Stalin alleged the former was doing so since "we are exposing corruption" against him.

"He is raking up the 2G spectrum allocation scam (against DMK MPs Kanimozhi and A Raja) to conceal his corruption," Stalin alleged. Meanwhile, Kanimozhi, in her address at a similar protest at Mettupalayam near Coimbatore, said the DMK would have been the first in the country to have thrown out the three 'anti- farmer' laws if it was in the power in Tamil Nadu.

Once the laws were implemented, despite assurance by the Centre, the MSP will be gradually phased out and also the procurement by Government, putting the farmers under the diktat of contractors, she said. She claimed the DMK will come to power in Tamil Nadu in another five months after next year's elections under Stalin and safeguard the rights of farmers and protect them.