New Delhi: The BJP seems to be facing staunch opposition to the farm bills, not just from the opposition parties, but its own party leaders and allies in Haryana, if sources are to be believed.
According to sources, around 10-14 BJP MLAs from Haryana are opposed to the farm Bills, and are in a mood to rebel. They have been putting pressure on the high-command and threatening to resign if the Bills are not withdrawn.
But the troubles do not end there for the saffron party, as even legislators from the JJP, its ally in Haryana, are staunchly against the Bills.
According to sources, in addition to the BJP MLAs, around 6-7 MLAs from the JJP are also pressurising the government to take the Bills back.
It was in this regard that JJP leader Dushyant Chautala met with Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday, and reportedly made his apprehensions clear.
Further, even RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) has made it clear that the Bills are not completely in the best interests of the farmers. However, the BKS has also said that it does not oppose the Bills in their entirety, and only wants some anti-farmer provisions to be removed.
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The BKS apparently wants the government to send the Bills to a standing committee to further improve the provisions.
Meanwhile, the BJP has tasked Anil Jain, the party's Haryana in-charge to speak with the MLAs unhappy with the farm Bills and convince them.
On ETV Bharat's question on the farm Bills, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said that the Congress was misleading people once again like it did during the anti-CAA and NRC protests. He even accused the grand old party of inciting the riots in Delhi.
BJP Spokesperson Sudesh Verma meanwhile, said that the people now have to decide whether they stand with the farmers, or the middlemen who deprive farmers of reaping the full benefits of their own produce.
The new Bills will not kill the old system, but will give farmers more freedom to gain the profits they deserve for their crops, Verma said.
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Verma added that the Bills are particularly important from the point of view of the 86 per cent of farmers, who are landless and often get exploited under contract farming.
He also said that the government has kept on reiterating that the Minimum Support Price will stay, and claimed that in six years, the Modi government has increased it by six times.
