West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the Centre of introducing the three contested agriculture laws with an intention to help its “capitalist” friends.
At a programme in the Burdwan region of West Bengal, Mamata alleged that once the three laws come into force, the corporates will try to forcibly acquire crops from the farmers.
Asking farmers to not be scared of the BJP, the West Bengal CM assured peasants that she will not let anybody “torture them”.
"BJP has a few friends like the Adani babus who are crorepatis, zamindars and capitalists. They are big BJP capitalists who will forcibly purchase crops from the farmers and store them in big godowns in Delhi. And when people will need the crops they will not give them", the TMC supremo alleged while inaugurating 'Mati Utsav' in the state.
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"This is the reason farmers from UP, Haryana, Punjab are protesting against the farm laws", she said.
Assuring the cultivators of her and her party's support, Banerjee said I have spoken to them (farmers) over phone four/five times. I had also sent my representatives there (protest sites) to talk to them. I want to clearly say that till we are alive we will not allow any kind of torture of the farmers.
I want to purchase crops directly from farmers. Don't be worried, you (farmers) are the pride of the nation, Banerjee said.
She also alleged that the Centre is depriving cultivators in West Bengal by not purchasing paddy from them while it is doing so in Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab.
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Elaborating, she said the Centre has purchased only 76,000 tonnes of paddy from farmers of West Bengal though they had produced 2.5 crore tonnes of the crop.
"This shows how much the Centre has deprived the farmers of West Bengal, she said adding that the state government has purchased 49 lakh tonnes of paddy from them.
In West Bengal at least 73 lakh of farmers will be brought under the state government's Krishak Bandhu scheme and 55 lakh have been already enrolled under it, she said.
The scheme was launched by Banerjee in January 2019. It will provide assured income and death benefits to farmers.
With PTI Inputs
