Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the minimum support price (MSP) and Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act and also urged citizens to support the protests led by farmers. “Farmers of Bihar are in a lot of trouble without MSP-APMC and now the PM has pushed the entire country into this well. In this situation, it is the duty of every citizen to stand with farmers,” read Gandhi’s tweet roughly translated from Hindi. Farmers are protesting against the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. The fifth round of talks between the Centre and farmer union leaders will take place today. The talks, the third in a week, will take place at 2 pm at Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan. “Government should announce to withdraw the three black laws and give in writing that MSP will continue. If any positive result doesn’t come out of today’s talks, farmers from Rajasthan will march along NH-8 towards Delhi & camp at Jantar Mantar,’ said Rampal Jat, president, Kisan Mahapanchayat. Key routes at Delhi’s borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh remained choked as thousands of farmers held demonstrations for the tenth consecutive day in their quest to get the three farm laws abolished. Earlier today, the farmers’ union has called for Bharat Bandh on December 8. “We told the government that the farm laws should be withdrawn. On December 5, effigies of PM Modi will be burnt across the country. We have given a call for Bharat Bandh on December 8,” Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU-Lakhowal) General Secretary, HS Lakhowal said.
