Support to Centre’s new farm legislations may go against AIADMK in 2021 polls

“Farmers already have bad experiences in contract farming in sugarcane and other vegetables in the state where they have completely lost to the corporates. The recent Bills against farmers brought by the Union government and support of AIADMK to the Bills will definitely have an impact in the Assembly elections,” KP Perumal, treasurer, Tamil Nadu Farmers Union, told DT Next.

Recently, the Centre introduced three Bills related to farming community such as The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020, in the Parliament.

All the three Bills were vehemently opposed by the farmers and by the opposition parties. However, AIADMK MPs have extended their support to all the Bills which had turned the wave against the party at the time when AIADMK was confident that it might bag the votes of farmers in the state. In the recently concluded Assembly session, AIADMK MLAs and Minister bragged that farmers and nature are on their side as water in Mettur dam was more than 100 feet for close to 330 days and it was opened for a record six times in one year. All these boastings were smashed in a week’s time after host of farming issues turned against the ruling AIADMK government. “Even Akali Dal which was part of government had voted against the Bill and Hasmirat Kaur Badal resigned from her post of Union Minister of Food Processing Industries in protest against the farm Bills, but the AIADMK which extends support to BJP from the outside had voted for the Bill which shows that AIADMK is for power and not for farmers,” said Perumal, who also said that farmers will make AIADMK realise its mistakes.

“During the COVID-19 lockdown economy of the country had gone down by 32 per cent and among all the sectors agriculture is the only sector to record a positive growth of 3.4 per cent in GDP. The new Bills have targeted the farming community and will destroy the positive growth in agriculture sector,” said VCK MP D Ravikumar.

He also said that the Bills will make farmers landless and they will be converted into agricultural labourers. The issue of food security will be questioned, hoarding will increase and unemployment will increase in rural areas which might result in violence. He further said that the Opposition parties will take the issue to public through protests and meetings and will create an impact in the upcoming Assembly elections.