Side Effects from Kissan Andolan

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday renewed his "andolanjivi" attack against those instigating the ongoing farmers protests and differentiated them from genuine "andolankaris".

'Kisan Andolan' is sacred, but when 'andolanjivis' hijack it and show pictures of those jailed for terrorism, what purpose does it serve, the Prime Minister said in Lok Sabha.

PM Modi had used the term andolanjeevi first during his speech in Rajya Sabha.

The peasants have persisted on their insistence. Agitational organizations are losing interest over the proposal to negotiate the government. When would the movement end? No one knows. Meanwhile, the large number of statistics associated with its side effect have emerged. It says that only in uttar pradesh, the movement has caused damage to the turnover of rs. 40, 000 crore. Not only this, Delhi has so far lost 65 to 70, 000 crores of goods from the capital of the country. By and large, the business world in the country has suffered a loss of rs. 1 lakh crore as a result of the movement.

As per survey results, farm laws have received significant support from across the country, especially from agrarian states. About 73% of respondents are for reforms and modernisation in the agricultural sector

Farmers mostly from Punjab and Haryana have been blocking entry points to the national capital for more than a month now, opposing the recently passed farm laws. For the success of any agitation it is crucial to attract widespread sympathy and the buy-in of people.

The ongoing agitation against the three farm laws has not spread beyond Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. Farmers from the region are known to have been the biggest beneficiaries of the minimum support price(MSP) regime. However, the sixth round of meeting between the government and farmer leaders on 30 December did manage a breakthrough. With farmers agreeing to break bread with the ministers and both sides meeting halfway, the Centre has agreed to rollback provisions of stubble burning and draft electricity law.

Survey results state that farm laws have received substantive support from across the country, especially from agrarian states. About 73% of respondents are for reforms and modernisation in the agricultural sector and the provision of ‘my crop, my right’ has the highest support from northern India (75.72%). Haryana and Punjab respondents--75% and 60% respectively--feel that this was given political colour for electoral gains

Not to miss the key point that successive governments have been procuring foodgrains multiple times of what is required for maintaining PDS and buffer stock. Data shows that India will have food grains 2.7 times more than what is required January 1, 2021. This is despite the government distributing free wheat and rice under PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojna. Food Corporation of India (FCI) had 92 million tonne of grain stocks compared to the buffer stock norm of 41.12 million required for PDS and some strategic reserves. Storage losses account for 15% of post-harvest foodgrain losses in India. Isn’t it criminal to waste taxpayer’s money which otherwise could have been spent on other welfare measures?

The intent of the three farm laws is to protect the interest of small and marginal farmers constituting 86% of the farmer base. These laws are believed to be a watershed moment for Indian agricultural sector as it would free farmers from the influence of intermediaries and help them reap benefit of improved productivity, better technology and earn a higher price. However, no movement or agitation succeeds if the objective is to disengage with each other and not meet midway. The fundamental right to protest cannot be at the expense of inconveniencing the general public.

The moot point till now was that agitating farmers were repeatedly changing goalposts. The only demand on which they were consistent was for repealing of the three farm laws. With the government continuing to be sympathetic and willing to take two steps forward it is a welcome move that those sitting on dharna have also stepped forward. Both sides have met halfway and agreed to two key points: In ordinance related to environment farmers should be excluded and electricity subsidy given to farmers by States for irrigation should continue. Keeping in view long term benefits of the three game changing farm laws, Government’s move to meet halfway is a tactical one towards finding a solution and ensuring that the farmer leaders remain on the discussion table.