NE NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD, SEPT 28
Nearly 100 Gujarat Congress workers, including state party president Amit Chavda, were detained in Gandhinagar on Monday after they staged a protest against farm bills passed in Parliament, police said.
किसान विरोधी भाजपाई काले कानून के खिलाफ किसानों के समर्थन में #ન્યાય_કૂચ करते हुए @INCGujarat अध्यक्ष श्री @AmitChavdaINC , विरोधपक्ष के नेता श्री @paresh_dhanani और अन्य समर्थकों को पुलिस द्वारा हिरासत में लिया गया।#KisaanMazdoorNYAYMarch pic.twitter.com/7yWtuWHoko
— Gujarat Congress (@INCGujarat) September 28, 2020
In the morning, Chavda, Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani, Congress MLAs Baldevji Thakor, C J Chavda and other party workers gathered at the Ambedkar statue near the Assembly complex and raised slogans against the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Gujarat.
They claimed the farm bills recently passed by Parliament were “anti-farmer and will destroy APMCs”.
Later, the police detained the state Congress chief, Dhanani, MLAs Thakor and C J Chavda, and other party workers.
Around 100 protesters were detained as soon as they started walking towards the Raj Bhavan, Deputy Superintendent of Police M K Rana said.
“Since the Congress workers had not taken any permission for the rally, we detained them. We will take a decision about their release afterwards,” Superintendent of Police Mayur Chavda said.
Earlier, talking to reporters before his detention, Amit Chavda said, “Not just Congress workers, farmers too are demonstrating across the country against these farm bills, which will destroy APMCs and give wide powers to corporates in deciding the prices.”
“The government will now wash its hands from giving MSP (minimum support price) under provisions of these bills,” he alleged.
Dhanani alleged that the central government wants to hand over the agriculture sector to some selected companies.
“Where would the small farmers go to sell their produce in the absence of APMCs? The BJP government is anti-farmer and these bills will turn farmers into farm labourers,” he said.
President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday gave assent to three contentious farm bills that have triggered protests by farmers, especially in Punjab and Haryana.
Agri laws are death sentence for farmers, says Rahul
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday alleged that the agriculture-related laws are a “death sentence” for farmers whose voice has been crushed both inside and outside Parliament.
“The agriculture laws are a death sentence to our farmers. Their voice is crushed in Parliament and outside. Here is proof that democracy in India is dead,” he said on Twitter.
The agriculture laws are a death sentence to our farmers. Their voice is crushed in Parliament and outside.
Here is proof that democracy in India is dead. pic.twitter.com/MC4BIFtZiA
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 28, 2020
Gandhi tagged a news report along with his tweet that claimed that Opposition members demanding a division of votes were on their seats when the farm bills were passed in the Rajya Sabha, while the government said they were not.
Gandhi and his Congress party have been demanding that the farm legislations be withdrawn as they are not beneficial for farmers, who will be enslaved at the hands of private players and big businesses.
The Congress party is also protesting against the farm laws across the country.
The government has, however, asserted that the new laws will free farmers from the clutches of middleman and allow them to sell their produce anywhere they want at a remunerative price.
Also read: Youth Congress torches tractor at India Gate in protest against farm laws
