Farming is soul of Punjab, attack on soul won't be tolerated: Opposition

Opposition parties slammed the Central government over the passage of agricultural reform Bills in Lok Sabha, adding that the Bills are against the interest of 'farmers, labourers and poor people'.

Hyderabad: Soon after farm ordinance was passed in the Lok Sabha on Thursday after facing a huge criticism and heated argument, the opposition parties come together to oppose the government's move and termed the bill as 'Kala Kannoon'for the farmers.

Reacting on the bill, former Punjab Minister and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday slammed the BJP-led Central government for bringing the farm bills.

Coming out in support of the protesting farmers, Sidhu said, "farming is the soul of Punjab and attack on the soul would not be tolerated".

Two farm bills were passed in the Lok Sabha by a voice vote on Thursday.

"Farming is the soul of Punjab. Wounds on the body can heal, but wounds of the soul will not be tolerated and condoned," he said on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on said that the BJP government has brought exploitative Bills related to agriculture which will turn farmers into labourers on their own land. He said that the exploitative Bills will make the farmers mortgage their farms to the rich.

"BJP government has brought an exploitative Bill which will make farmers mortgage their farms to the rich. It is a conspiracy to break boundaries of farms and also to end the markets that decide MSP. In the future, the true price of farmers produce will be taken away from them and they will be made labourers on their own land," Yadav said in a tweet (roughly translated from Hindi).

Commenting on the bill, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on said that the three agriculture-related bills are anti-farmer' and they should be opposed. He said, "Congress government had made APMC Act (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) in favour of farmers. But now, any big trader can open a Mandi and under these new anti-farmer Bills, any dispute at Mandi will be handled by officials."

"They (BJP government) are also ending co-operatives by making changes in the Banking Regulation Act. All these four anti-farmer ordinances should be seen in totality. These ordinances should be opposed," Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav also slammed the Central government over the passage of agricultural reform Bills in Lok Sabha, adding that the Bills are against the interest of 'farmers, labourers and poor people'.

"I have been saying from the beginning that the government of the National Democratic Alliance is against the interest of farmers, labourers, poor people. These people want to force these bills. These Bills are completely anti-farmer," said Yadav. He said that these Bills will 'harm' the farmers and will have an "adverse impact" on the country.

With inputs from agencies