TRS is ready for long battle against new farm laws: KTR

Minister KT Rama Rao said the three agricultural laws newly enacted by the Centre were in no way beneficial to farmers and would, in fact, only aggravate the farm crisis.

Hyderabad: The TRS is fully prepared for a long battle against the new farm laws enacted by the Centre and will extend all support to farmers to safeguard their rights and interest, the party’s working president and Municipal Administration Minister KT Rama Rao said on Tuesday.

The Minister was addressing a massive gathering of people participating in the rasta roko at Burgula tollgate on the Hyderabad-Bangaluru National Highway near Shadnagar as part of the Bharat Bandh called in protest against the new laws.

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Stating that farmers were protesting on Delhi roads for the past 13 days braving the bone-chilling weather conditions against the new agriculture laws, he said the three agricultural laws newly enacted by the Centre were in no way beneficial to farmers and would, in fact, only aggravate the farm crisis. “It is for this specific reason that the TRS is opposing these laws. Rather than supporting the farmers, the Central government is favouring corporate powers,” he said.

The Minister found fault with the Centre for abolishing market committees under the new agriculture laws, indicating that the Union government lacks democratic spirit. He stated that about 85 per cent of farmers in the country were small and marginal who were not in a position to transport their produce to other States and sell as was being claimed by the Centre.

“These small and marginal farmers are neither in a position to foot the transport expenditure nor fight the corporate powers. The new farm laws will not only hurt farmers severely, but also impact domestic consumers who will be forced to purchase essentials as per the prices fixed by the corporates,” he said. He pointed out that even if there was a high price for a crop in one State and farmers from other States manage to transport their produce to compete, the local farmers will suffer losses.

Opposing the new farm legislations, the protests began much earlier than the 11 am schedule in the State even as all political parties except the BJP joining the protests. Though seperately, all these political parties organised demonstrations, rastarokos, bike and tractor rallies and other forms of protests in support of the shutdown. They were joined by several farmers’ bodies, trade unions and government employees associations in solidarity with the farmers. All commercial establishments remained closed, while the RTC buses remained in the depots with the ruling TRS itself appealing to them to support the bandh.

Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka attended a rasta roko at Shamirpet here along with other party leaders. Congress legislators and other leaders staged protests in their respective Assembly constituencies. Telangana Jana Samiti (TJS) leader M Kodandaram, CPI State secretary Chada Venkata Reddy and CPI (M) State secretary Thammineni Veerabhadram along with their respective party activists as well as members of affiliated trade and other unions held a protest at Koti in Hyderabad.

On the occasion, TPCC president and MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy demanded the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre to immediately withdraw the contentious new farm laws to protect the interest of farmers. He also urged Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao to convene a special session of the State Legislative Assembly and pass new laws to override the Centre’s anti-farmer laws.

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