Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the passage of the contentious farming bills was “a watershed moment in the history of Indian agriculture”. Modi said the bills would add impetus to the efforts to double income of farmers and ensure “greater prosperity” for them.
The Rajya Sabha on Sunday passed the Farmers’ and Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020. The bills were passed by voice vote amid uproar by the Opposition, who alleged the ordinances are “anti-farmer”.
Farmers across the country have also been vehemently opposing them, arguing the new agricultural policies would lead to them losing out on guaranteed purchase prices for their crops, to the benefit of large corporations.
But the Centre has repeatedly promised that…