Loktantrik Party chief Hanuman Beniwal, whose party is an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party, on Saturday resigned from three Lok Sabha committees to mark his protest against the new farm laws, reported NDTV. The Nagaur lawmaker submitted his resignation to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
Beniwal, who was a member of parliamentary panels on industries, petroleum and natural gas, and petitions, said he will march to Delhi on December 26 with two lakh supporters to extend his support to the ongoing farmers’ agitation, reported The Indian Express.
“The government in Delhi is in a mood to crush the farmer protests,” he told reporters in Jaipur. “After consultation with all office-bearers of the RLP, we have decided that on December 26, two lakh jawans and kisans will march towards Delhi through the Shahjahanpur border.”
The Loktantrik Party leader called his rebellion “a question of Rajasthan’s honour”. He said, “We will not tolerate the attempts being made by governments to erase the existence of the farmer community.”
Beniwal is a prominent Jat leader who enjoys considerable support among the community in Nagaur and Barmer districts of the state.
He also warned the government against taking the farmer protests “lightly”. “If the protests flare up countrywide, it will be difficult for the BJP to tackle them,” Beniwal said, adding that he would take a decision on whether his party would quit the National Democratic Alliance during the march.
Last month, Beniwal had threatened to quit the alliance if the Centre did not withdraw the three new farm laws.
In his resignation letter that he shared on Twitter, Beniwal wrote that he raised “various people-centric issues” with the committees of which he was a member. “It is sad that action has not been taken on the issues,” he added. “There is no justification for committees in the parliamentary system if action is not taken.”
The politician added: “As the issues remained unheard and due to the farmers’’ agitation, I am tendering my resignation from the committees.”
Farmers’ protests
Tens of thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, have been protesting at key entry points to Delhi for 25 days against the laws. The farmers fear the agricultural reforms will weaken the minimum support price mechanism under which the government buys agricultural produce, will lead to the deregulation of crop-pricing, deny them fair remuneration for their produce and leave them at the mercy of corporations.
The government, on the other hand, maintains that the new laws will give farmers more options in selling their produce, lead to better pricing, and free them from unfair monopolies.
The negotiations between farmers’ groups and the Centre has not progressed since the last meeting, scheduled to be held on December 9, was cancelled. Both the government and farmer leaders have reiterated their positions and dialed up the rhetoric, but have not made no concrete efforts to resume discussions to resolve the deadlock.
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