THE All India Kisan Sabha, in a statement issued on March 20, has condemned the recommendation by the Standing Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and PDS headed by the Trinamul Congress MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay to implement the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. This recommendation is in ‘letter and spirit’ against the farmers and masses of our country and is an insult to farmers and the nearly 300 martyrs of the historic united kisan struggle.

The TMC which claims to be opposed to the three anti-farmer acts and also passed a resolution in the West Bengal assembly, must explain how a committee headed by its leader has given a recommendation betraying the farmers. It cannot escape by saying that the chairman Bandhopadhyay could not attend the last meeting on March 18, 2021 due to “certain exigencies” and the report was adopted under acting chairman Ajay Misra Teni of the BJP. The main opposition party the Indian National Congress and other parties on the committee have also much to answer as to how their members have allowed such a recommendation.

The standing committee report also claims that this would act as “a catalyst for unlocking vast untapped resources in the agriculture sector by creating an environment for enhanced investments…fair and productive competition in agricultural marketing and increase farmers’ income”. This is totally false and far removed from the ground reality as farmers’ organisations and the Samyukta Kisan Morcha have pointed out. It will only allow corporate hoarding and black-marketing leading to artificial scarcities and price rise for the masses with no benefit for the farmers. It will eventually eliminate the public distribution system.

This recommendation is unacceptable, said the AIKS and called upon the peasantry to expose the hypocrisy of parties who claim to be opposed to the three anti-farmer acts in public but have been party to such a recommendation. AIKS has called upon peasants and masses of the country to rise in protest against the recommendation of the standing committee aimed at furthering the Narendra Modi led BJP government’s anti-farmer, pro-corporate policy.