Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi defended new laws aimed at lifting restrictions on farmers on Friday after protests by opposition parties, some farming bodies and even an ally of his Bharatiya Janata Party.
Lok Sabha, lower house of the parliament, on Thursday passed three emergency executive orders issued in June by Modi’s cabinet which were targeted at reforming the antiquated Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act.
This includes a rule that forces growers to sell their produce only at India’s more than 7,000 regulated wholesale markets and Modi said the new legislation would “unshackle” millions of farmers and help them get better prices.
“It will also remove middlemen and let farmers sell their produce directly to buyers,” Modi said.
Many farmer organisations oppose the legislation because they say that if big buyers start buying directly from producers, small growers will hardly have any bargaining power.
“The APMC Act forces every buyer to come to wholesale markets, which is designed to help farmers get competitive, assured and timely payments,” Dharmendra Malik, a farm leader from Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, said.
If big institutions start purchasing directly from farmers, state governments will lose out on the tax that these buyers have to pay at wholesale markets, Malik said.
“The current system ensures that farmers are paid immediately after selling their crop in the market yard itself. If farmers sell outside, who will ensure that they are paid the promised price?” a Maharashtra state official said.
Modi has said that the wholesale markets will operate as usual as the APMC Act has not been abolished and that farmers are simply being given an option to sell directly to buyers.
But Sudhir Panwar, chief of farmers’ group Kisan Jagriti Manch, said if large buyers are allowed to buy directly from farmers, wholesale markets would gradually disappear.
India’s food processing minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned on Thursday, calling the legislation “anti-farmer”.
Badal’s Shiromani Akali Dal party is a BJP ally with a strong base in Punjab, one of India’s two bread basket states, where farmers form an influential voting bloc.
BJP, however, is confident that numbers are stacked in its favour in Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the parliament, where the draft laws are expected to be tabled soon.
While the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance is yet to have a clear majority of its own in the 245-member Rajya Sabha, many regional parties have backed it for the last several sessions to ensure passage of various legislations proposed by the government.
BJP leaders expressed confidence that they will get the support of over 130 members, including nine of the AIADMK, and seven of the TRS and six of the YSR Congress – the regional parties which are not part of the ruling alliance, if a division of votes is sought on these bills.
The BJP has the highest tally with 86 seats, followed by 40 of the Congress.
The three members of the SAD are sure to vote against the bills, but Shiv Sena, a former BJP ally and now in opposition, has expressed it support for these bills. The Maharashtra party has three members in Rajya Sabha.
Several other regional parties, including three-member Aam Aadmi Party, Samajwadi Party with eight seats, and BSP with four, have joined the opposition’s ranks in protest against these bills but it may not prove enough to hinder their passage.
A number count of parties that have come out against these draft legislations suggests that there are as of now nearly 100 MPs opposing them. There is no clarity about the stand of some small parties which have around a dozen members put together.
The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill were passed by Lok Sabha on Thursday, while the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill was passed on Tuesday.
