Ashok Gulati, for instance, has hailed the farm laws and even compared them to the 1991 economic reforms. According to him, the laws are an important step towards getting “agri markets right”.
Bhupinder Singh Mann, who heads his own faction of the BKU, is one of the few farm union leaders to have come out in support of these measures
“Reforms are needed in order to make agriculture competitive. But there should be safeguards,” Mann had said.
Farm groups under the banner of All India Kisan Coordination Committee (AIKCC), which is chaired by Mann, met Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar in December and expressed their support for the new laws.
Mann’s background is also interesting. He was given a Rajya Sabha seat by the VP Singh government in 1990 at a time when farmers’ protests were banned in Punjab. Mann’s decision to accept the offer led to a split in the BKU. His son Gurpratap Singh Mann is a member of the Congress party and the party’s government in Punjab made…