Three Central laws are death warrants to the farmers: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that the Centre’s three new laws were death warrants to the farmers. Kejriwal, who had invited farm leaders from western Uttar Pradesh for lunch at Delhi Vidhan Sabha, claimed that with the implementation of these farm laws, the crops would go in the hands of a few industrialists.
“The central government should immediately withdraw all three black laws and a legal guarantee of MSP should be granted on all the 23 crops following the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission,” Kejriwal said after emerging from the meeting with the representatives of farm unions.“The Centre should talk to the farmers... if the government does not listen to the farmers, then who will?”
Kejriwal said, on February 28, a Kisan Mahapanchayat would take place in Meerut where farmers would join in large numbers. “At that mahapanchayat, the farmers will demand immediate rollback of these three laws brought by the BJP-run central government,” he said.
“BJP is continuously saying that these laws will benefit the farmers, but has not yet clarified how they will be beneficial,” he said, adding that if these laws were implemented, farmers would become labourers on their own land.
Cabinet minister Kailash Gahlot, who also attended the meeting, said that farmer leaders representing around 40 khap panchayats of western UP had come for the discussion. “We are standing with the farmers and have been providing them help from Day 1, be it the arrangements for water and electricity or Wi-Fi,” he said, adding that the farmers had given a clear message that till the three “black laws” were taken back, the protest would continue.
Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said that Aam Aadmi Party would continue to stand with the farmers in their struggle.
“The BJP-run central government has put barricades to stop the path of the protesting farmers and also put nails. But, today, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal invited the farmers of western Uttar Pradesh to the Delhi legislative assembly,” said Choudhary Rohit Jakhar, farmer leader and state president of Rashtriya Jat Mahasangh. He said Kejriwal had broken all barriers of caste, religion and sect and welcomed the entire “Chaudharata” of western Uttar Pradesh.
“Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has given us respect just the way Lord Shri Krishna gave respect to Sudama. This battle is for the farmers, but it will become a battle for every citizen because farmers provide food to people,” he said, adding that the farmers would reach out to people in villages to raise these demands.
“We wanted complete freedom from debt, but the Centre brought these three laws for industrialists. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal invited us and that is why we have come here as we need a political party that listens to us and understands our pain. When the Centre had asked for temporary jails, he didn’t allow jails to be created and that is why farmers trust him,” said Kuldip Tyagi, a farmer leader from Meerut and president of Bharatiya Kisan Andolan.
“Kejriwal has helped us and also assured help for the mahapanchayat. We will continue our protests,” said Virendra Singh, a farmer leader from Baghpat. Arvind Balyan, a farmer leader from Muzzafarnagar, said: “The Delhi chief minister told us how he has also come to this position from a movement and understands what it feels to lie on the streets in the cold.”