Oct 4, 2020
The Farm Bills 2020 — “Seeds” of Discontent?
A humourous take on the Farm Bills
The build up to the bills is interesting and some new perspectives are emerging across the country.
When the bill came up for discussion in the Lok Sabha, opposition attempted to convert it into a Lock Sabha. But the ruling party moved it swiftly and took it to the Raj-“ya” Sabha where the bill got passed. The bills then went to the President, which is not un-precedented.
Congress protested against the “Minimum Support Price” and the bills by calling them “Black Laws”. This seems to be taken to heart by the Shiromani A-kali Dal (SAD) who possibly has interpreted it as “Black Loss” and has called The Farm Bill a SAD move. The ruling NDA seem to be faced with some unforeseen A-Kale Badals. Har-simmer-at Kaur has simmered the cauldron further with her resignation.
Meanwhile in Punjab, a new twist has been added to the story by the ruling party saying that ISI would be able to take advantage of the situation and foment trouble. Looks like ISI has moved away from grenades to green-aids.
The BJP President J P Nadda said that the Congress reaction to the bills was “Nad-done” and there was not a grain of truth in the allegations. YSRCP party MP Vijaysai Reddy-ly supported the BJP. Janta Dal also felt that they had got the pulse of the farmers right and the time was ripe for the move.
AIADMK has given a muted response of opposition to the party at the centre with whom it has an alliance. Maybe there is confusion if Amma mess will continue to get cheap grains or not.
The Communist parties, as expected, have resorted to sloganeering.
There seems to be no Clove lost in Gods own country. An MP from Kerala feels that the corporates will wring the juice out of the produce by squeezing the farmers for lower rates. He would prefer that the APMCs did the same. All Walnuts may reach Walmart, he conjectures.
Maharashtra which is operating with “Shared Power” could not come to a conclusion. Sonia yet so far. Some sections feel that in Nashik, the farmers have been graped and the prices of tomatoes need to ketchup. Opposition leader Devendra Fade-na-wish might be hoping to bring up the irrigation controversy and stay in the lime light- “Dam” good time, I think.
Aam Aadmi Party seems to have muffled its voice but is trying to make the most of the controversy. “Aam ko आम और गुठलियों के दाम” appears to be their take. They seem to have learnt their lehsun.
In Bengaluru, many people came to the streets to protest during the infamous peak hour. It appears that the office going population was extremely inconvenienced with their travel time going up from two and a half hours to two hours and thirty-five minutes.
Latest news is that the Congress has asked opposition ruled states to put the farm bills (and not the produce!) in cold storage by using a provision for states to frame their own laws. It is an attempt to prevent India from getting genetically Modi-fied, they claim.
To counter it, the food ministry has paddy-ed up procurement prices and rice may follow suit.
As the media and channels scramble for coverage over acreage, we the viewers have become couch potatoes switching between the bat-and-ball game and the “spicy” news.
What will sprout only time will tell. But one thing is clear- We just don’t seem to have an Agree-culture!
