US Trade Deal: BJP attacks farmers again, govt must explain, says Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party (SP) National President Akhilesh Yadav has levelled serious allegations against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre for playing with the interests of farmers.

He alleged that opening up the Indian market to American agricultural products and foodgrains is a direct betrayal of approximately 70 per cent of the population that depends on agriculture.

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Posting on his social media account on Tuesday, Akhilesh Yadav said that the BJP, which talks about self-reliance and Swadeshi, should tell the public how much “commission” it has taken by compromising the country’s economy.

He alleged that this decision will not only affect farmers but also the lower middle class and middle class, as it will lead to increased profiteering in foodgrains and agricultural products and create a new class of middlemen, making everyday necessities more expensive.

He expressed apprehension that the entry of foreign companies would gradually reduce farmers’ income, forcing them to sell their land to big capitalists and corporate houses. Akhilesh Yadav alleged that seizing land is the ultimate goal of the BJP and its allies.

Akhilesh Yadav termed the proposed Seed Bill as dangerous for Indian agriculture, saying that it is a product of the same anti-farmer mindset that brought laws like land acquisition and humiliated farmers by making them stand in lines for fertilisers.

He alleged that commission will be taken at every level, from seed companies to pesticide companies, silo construction, crop insurance, minimum price fixing, and crop buying and selling, which could completely devastate agriculture in the Indian context.

Akhilesh Yadav claimed that farmers, already troubled by Minimum Retail Price (MRP) issues and stray cattle, will not tolerate any more injustices.

He called upon farmers to organise protests, alleging that the BJP has been attacking farmers in one form or another, year after year.