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India government tries to appease the anger of farmers opposed to agricultural reforms

2020-12-01T23:53:00.677Z


India on Tuesday tried to appease the anger of peasants, which has been brewing for nearly a week against agricultural reforms in protests that have led to violent clashes with police in the suburbs of New Delhi. The government brought forward scheduled talks with farmer representatives to two days, seeking to avoid further gatherings after protesters announced plans to further block access to the


India on Tuesday tried to appease the anger of peasants, which has been brewing for nearly a week against agricultural reforms in protests that have led to violent clashes with police in the suburbs of New Delhi.

The government brought forward scheduled talks with farmer representatives to two days, seeking to avoid further gatherings after protesters announced plans to further block access to the capital.

Read also: India: peasants fear liberalization

During a rally on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized the opposition for disseminating "

false information

" on the reform package.

The Congress Party, the main opposition party which holds power in Punjab (north-west) from which many demonstrators come, accuses these reforms of putting the peasants at the mercy of large private buyers, without any negotiating power.

"

As the big players (...) enter the game, our current government agricultural markets will become useless and private players will exploit the farmers,

" said Harmandeep Singh, who joined the protest from Punjab.

According to Singh, farmers are demanding a written guarantee from the government that minimum prices for agricultural commodities will not be removed.

Two in three Indians live in rural areas

The situation worsened on Friday when police used tear gas and water cannons for the second day in a row against farmers marching towards New Delhi.

Hundreds of police had been deployed at various points of entry into the capital with trucks of sand.

They had set up roadblocks equipped with barbed wire to block the arrival of the demonstrators.

By virtue of reforms adopted at the end of September, farmers now have the freedom to sell their products to a buyer and at the price of their choice, and no longer only on the markets regulated by the State (the "

mandis

") with fixed prices. .

Mr. Modi welcomed “

a complete transformation of the agricultural sector

” which will benefit “

tens of millions of farmers

”.

The peasant condition is a major political issue in India, where two out of three Indians live in rural areas.

Farmer suicides have numbered in the thousands in recent years due to debt and drought.

Source: lefigaro

All business articles on 2020-12-01

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