Jammu 12 December (KNB): All J&K Youth Federation (AJKYF) extended their support to national vide farmers protest who are protesting against the rollback of the contentious farm laws passed by the parliament of India on 27th of September of 2020.
In a statement issued to Kashmir News Bureau, Incharge Jammu Province and Executive Member of All J&K Youth Federation, Ch. Sanjay Singh Sandhu said, “It is unfortunate that there was no consultation undertaken by the central government at the time of promulgating the three black ordinances and subsequently pushing the bills through parliament against farmers.”
He stated that the pro-corporate and perceived anti-farmer provisions in the farm laws, the Union government has by-passed the federal structure by legislating on subjects that exclusively fall within the domain of the state government under the state list of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution and the global experience across agricultural markets demonstrates that corporatisation of agriculture without a concomitant security net in the form of an assured payment guarantee to the farmers results in the exploitation of farmers at the hands of big business.
“The primary cause for concern is the systematic dismantling of the APMC mandis, which have stood the test of time and have provided farmers the remuneration to keep themselves afloat,” Sandhu stated.
He further stated that the farm laws open the field to an alternate set of markets/private yards, where the buyer will have no statutory obligation to pay the minimum support price (MSP). Since the markets/private yards will not be charged any market fee/levy; the agricultural sector will see the gradual shifting of trade from the APMC mandis to these private yards.
“The market fee collected by the APMC mandis is used for the development of rural infrastructure, link roads and storage facilities. The shifting of trade to avoid payment of any levy/market fee by private players and the Food Corporation of India (FCI) will eventually witness the redundancy of the APMC mandis, leaving the farmers at the mercy of the corporate sharks,” he said, adding that the new farm laws expressly exclude the jurisdiction of the civil court, leaving the farmers remediless and with no independent medium of dispute redressal mechanism.
The statement further read that Sandhu demands immediate roll back of the three black laws passed in the parliament, which are against the farmers in general, and nation in particular. (KNB)
