Congress sends truckload of signatures against farm bills to high command

A truck loaded with several cardboard boxes with signatures collected from the farmers by the local Congress units across the state was handed over to All India Congress Committee’s (Maharashtra) incharge H K Patil.

As part of its campaign to mobilise support against the Narendra Modi government’s farm Bills, the Congress in Maharashtra on Tuesday handed over to the party high command a truck filled with memorandums from farmers opposed to the farm laws. The party has launched a nationwide campaign demanding a repeal of these laws and has labelled them as anti-farmer.

“We reached out to 60 lakh farmers in the state and have heard them out. This law is anti-farmer and will kill the market committees in the country,” said Maharashtra Congress president and state Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat.

A truck loaded with several cardboard boxes with signatures collected from the farmers by the local Congress units across the state was handed over to All India Congress Committee’s (Maharashtra) incharge H K Patil.

As per the party’s plan, a delegation, expected to be spearheaded by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, will call upon President Ramnath Kovind to submit farmers’ memorandums from across India.

“The party is collecting over two crore signatures of farmers from across the country. This truck will go to Delhi and will be handed over to Sonia Gandhi who is expected to meet the President with signatures from across the country tentatively on November 19,” said Patil.

Accusing the Modi government of pushing through the “anti-farmer” legislations in an undemocratic fashion, the Congress is keen to leverage the protests against the farm Bills as an opportunity to regain some of its lost political space.

The party had kicked off a two-month nationwide campaign from September 26 onwards, asking its state units to collect signatures from farmers and Agriculture Produce Market Committee traders, demanding a repeal of these legislations. As part of the campaign, the party had also organised virtual rallies in Maharashtra and rest of the country.

Congress-ruled states of Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan have passed state laws in opposition to the central Act. While Maharashtra is yet to decide on such a law, Thorat said, “We (the Maharashtra government) are forming a committee of ministers of Maha Vikas Aghadi to study the Act and how we can counter it at the state level.”

“I have spoken to state-level leaders and farmers in Maharashtra. They have been asking if there is a way to pass an Act like other states here. We are consulting on this,” Patil added.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, Lahu Shewale, a prominent Dhangar community leader, joined the Congress in Patil’s presence along with his supporters.

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