Whole country is with farmers, says Punjab CM

Chandigarh, Dec 8 : Reiterating that the farm laws are anti-farmer which were introduced without any discussion with the stakeholders, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said on Tuesday that the unity showcased by the farmers through the Bharat Bandh has underscored the need for repealing the laws, followed by a detailed discussion on agricultural reforms.
The Chief Minister asked why the Centre could not heed the demands of the farmers, who are agitating across the country to scrap these laws and hold fresh talks with all the stakeholders.
“Had I been in their place, I would not have taken a minute to accept my mistake and revoke the laws,” he said.
Asserting that the whole country is standing with the farmers in their pain and in their fight for survival, Amarinder Singh said the Centre should allow the existing system to continue instead of scrapping the arhtiya and mandi system, as the farm laws are designed to do.
“Why are they doing away with it? They should let the farmers decide what they want,” he said, adding that nobody is stopping private players from purchasing agri produce but it could not be allowed at the cost of the well-established system which had stood the farmers in good stead all these decades.
The Chief Minister further demanded to know why the government of India is not willing to give legitimacy to minimum support price (MSP), if its assertion of not abolishing it is sincere.