Shimla: The Himachal Kisan Sabha (HKS) has blasted the Centre's draft "National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing."
The Sabha called it a ploy to reintroduce the scrapped three farm laws through the backdoor.
HKS president Dr. Kuldip Singh Tanwar accused the government of conspiring to hand over Indian agriculture to corporates.
“The policy sacrifices farmers’ interests to boost corporate profits,” he said.
The draft proposes privatizing wholesale markets and bypassing APMCs.
It allows direct procurement by corporates and eliminates state-backed market protections.
“This will destroy small farmers and push them out of agriculture,” Dr. Tanwar warned.
The Kisan Sabha said the policy ignores key farmer demands.
These include legalizing MSP and increasing public investment in agriculture.
The Sabha called the policy an "anti-farmer agenda" led by the BJP-RSS government.
It criticized plans to form an "Empowered Committee" to pressure states into adopting reforms.
“This move undermines federalism and democracy,” Dr. Tanwar said.
The Sabha highlighted Bihar's failed APMC experiment as a cautionary tale.
“Bihar’s mandis collapsed, leaving farmers at the mercy of private players,” Dr. Tanwar added.
The Kisan Sabha announced protests on December 23, 2024.
Farmers will burn copies of the draft policy at district headquarters nationwide.
“We fought and won against the farm laws. This policy is no different. We will resist,” Dr. Tanwar declared.
The Kisan Sabha demanded the Centre scrap the draft immediately.
They also called for talks with farmer unions to address real agricultural issues.
