PANAJI/MAPUSA
The interactions organised in a bid to calm the turbulent reactions to the recently passed farm laws by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar got a hostile reaction from farmers with some in Mapusa demonstrating with black flags.
Even as Javadekar appealed to farmers in another interaction at Chorao not to fall prey to 'politics' and protest against the laws, farmers in Mapusa attributed politics to the BJP, alleging that only selective farmers were called for an audience with the Union minister.
Mapusa's protesting farmers also faulted the government for failing to take the farmers into confidence before enacting the three legislations.
Armed with black flags and placards, the farmers created enough noise to register their protest, as the convoy of Union Environment and Forest Minister Prakash Javadekar zipped passed them on his way to address members of the BJP Kissan Morcha and office bearers of the party at the North Goa BJP District office in Mapusa.
“Despite being a registered farmer of Mapusa and a Krishi card owner, I was not invited for the meeting with the Union Minister. Why have they kept the farmers of Mapusa out of the meeting?” asked John Lobo from Kamarkhazan.
Farmer, Ravi Haramalkar said farmers should have been taken into consideration before the farm bills were passed in the Parliament.
“Why are they now coming to meet farmers? Chief Minister Pramod Sawant should first bring a bill to protect our agricultural land in the State. We want a land protection bill to protect the interest of farmers,” Harmalkar said.
According to Lobo, the contract clause in the farm bill will finish the poor and the farmers in the country.
He said the farmers of Mapusa were also protesting against the government move to delete names of 1,300 farmers from the land use register and demanded restoration of the names.
President of Shree Bodgeshwar Shetkari Sangh, Sanjay Barde informed that farmers expected that they would be called for the meeting but the BJP-led government failed to invite them.
“Contract farming is dangerous and the MLAs need to think about its effect,” Barde said.
The meeting of the union minister with the BJP Kissan Morcha members and party office-bearers was a closed-door affair, with no access to the media.
Besides Union Environment and Forest Minister Prakash Javadekar, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Deputy CM Babu Kavlekar also addressed the gathering.
BJP President Sadanand Tanavde, Mapusa MLA Joshua D’Souza and North Goa BJP District President Mahanand Asnodkar were also present.
