Congress MP Charanjit Singh Channi on Friday launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led central government, accusing it of betraying farmers by failing to fulfill its commitments on Minimum Support Price (MSP) and attempting to suppress their ongoing agitation.
Channi’s remarks came in the aftermath of the detention of several farmer leaders, including Sarwan Singh Pandher and Jagjit Singh Dallewal, by Punjab Police on Wednesday. The leaders were taken into custody while returning from a meeting in Chandigarh with a central delegation led by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Channi condemned the government's actions, equating them to a betrayal of the farmers. He argued that while the central government had urged protesting farmer leaders to withdraw their hunger strike in the name of negotiations, it was simultaneously preparing to dismantle the agitation through force.
Questioning the sincerity of the government’s approach, he pointed out the contradiction in inviting farmers for dialogue while simultaneously detaining them.
The former Punjab chief minister, who also serves as the Chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, and Food Processing, criticised the Centre’s failure to honor its promises on MSP. He reminded the House that the government had earlier assured farmers that their demands would be met, yet no concrete steps had been taken.
When the farmers resumed their protests, they were stopped from marching to Delhi, reinforcing concerns that their voices were being systematically stifled.
Channi further alleged that the government was wrongly portraying the farmers as economic disruptors, accusing them of blocking roads and destabilizing the economy. In reality, he argued, it was the government erecting barricades and preventing farmers from expressing their grievances. The core issue, he stressed, was that farmers wanted to be heard, not vilified.
During the heated discussion on the Demands for Grants of the Agriculture Ministry in the Lok Sabha, Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav also joined the opposition’s criticism, highlighting the distress suffered by farmers under the BJP-led government.
He pointed out that in the past ten years, more than one lakh farmers had committed suicide due to financial distress and policy failures. He further condemned the government for introducing the three controversial farm laws, which were widely protested and labeled as ‘black laws’ by the opposition.
Yadav recalled how 750 farmers lost their lives during the historic year-long protest against these laws and lamented that, even today, not a single affected family has received compensation.
Also read: Heavy deployment at Shambhu after farmers protest crackdown
Congress MP Jai Prakash likened the government's suppression of farmer protests to colonial-era oppression, calling it an unacceptable use of force.
He warned that any attempt to revive the farm laws would face stiff resistance from the opposition. Condemning the loss of over 700 farmer lives during the protests, he cautioned the government against issuing ‘black warrants’ that could further weaken the farming community.
Amid the sharp criticism from opposition leaders, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Ayush, Prataprao Ganpatrao Jadhav, intervened to defend the government’s agricultural policies. Without naming any individuals, he remarked that only those with real knowledge of agriculture should comment on farm policies.
He also referenced an opposition leader’s remarks at a political rally, in an apparent dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, to suggest that some criticisms stemmed from political motives rather than genuine concern for farmers.
The debate reflected the deepening divide between the government and the opposition on farmer-related policies, with growing concerns over the central government’s handling of agriculture reforms and rural distress.
Also Read: Farmers 'under attack' in govt 'conspiracy': Channi
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