Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Vice President Prof Salim Engineer.

New Delhi, 19 Sept.2020: Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) has opposed the three contentious farm bills as the central government is preparing to table them in the Rajya Sabha after passing in the Lok Sabha.

The three ordinances – The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020; The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement; and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 that have now been passed as Bills in the Lok Sabha.

In a statement issued to the media, the JIH Vice President – Prof Salim Engineer said: “Jamaat-e-Islami Hind opposes the three farms bills recently introduced in the Parliament as they are exploitative and anti-farmer. These bills will result in reduced crop prices for farmers and undermine seed security. Food security will be severely compromised as government intervention will be eliminated and Indian food and farming systems will be subject to the greed and manipulation of corporates, multinationals and market forces. Hoarding and black marketing will increase resulting in exploitation of farmers. Farmers will be forced to sell at a price lower than MSP at the local market itself since they cannot transport their produce to large distances. It seems the government wants to dilute and dismantle the FCI, MSP and PDS infrastructure. It wants to hand over the reins of the agriculture sector to forces that will perpetuate exploitation and profiteering.”

Demanding the Central government to take back these ‘anti-farmer laws’, the JIH Vice President said, “the government should seriously consider the demands of the farmers, and address their concerns and apprehensions and also talk to their representatives and withdraw the bills.” He called upon the government to implement policies that steadily increase farmers’ income, maintain food and seed security as well as respect the diversity in terms of land ownership, cropping patterns and the traditional functioning of agricultural markets.