Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday accused the BJP of giving importance to its "capitalist friends" and said the farmers' protest against the new agri laws is an example of the "failure" of the government.
The BJP government at the Centre is making offers to farmers for talks, but on the other hand, it is levelling "baseless allegations" on the protesting farmers, he said in a statement issued here.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) chief, however, did not elaborate on the issue of allegations on farmers.
"This is an insult to farmers, who are staging a sit-in for their rights. The BJP, while supporting its favourite capitalist friends, is walking a path which is against farmers, labourers and those from the lower-middle income group. The government is giving Kisan Samman, but the new farm laws will cause losses worth thousands and lakhs to farmers," Yadav said.
The former chief minister also said that after the BJP came to power, bad times started for farmers. "The current farmers' agitation is a living example of the failure of the BJP government. The SP is standing with the farmers," he said.
Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, are protesting against the laws since the last week of November at various border points of Delhi and demanding that the legislations be repealed.
Farmers are protesting against the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.
The three farm laws, enacted in September, have been projected by the government as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove middlemen and allow farmers to sell anywhere in the country.
However, the protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of Minimum Support Price and do away with the mandis, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates. The Centre has repeatedly asserted that these mechanisms will remain.
SP's national spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said that on the direction of the party chief, on the third day of the 'samajwadi kisan ghrea abhiyan', MPs, MLAs and other public representatives took part, and listened to the grievances of farmers.
