It is indeed extremely sad to see several thousand farmers agitating in Delhi, for a month now, braving the biting cold, demanding justice against the unfair laws hurriedly rushed through Parliament by the despotic BJP Govt. Some protestors have succumbed to the unbearable cold, many have committed suicide, but still the rest of the farmers are determined to continue their fight while an unrelenting and inconsiderate Government just refuses to give in. It is shocking that the BJP keeps claiming that the new laws are in fact in favour of the farmers, as if these are some fools protesting in the inclement weather, for such a long time. The farmers have consistently been averring that the laws recently framed are not only detrimental to them but leave them at their mercy of the corporates. And the very fact that the Government is adamant in not rolling them back, despite the chaos that the protest is causing in the capital, only proves that the Central Government holds their industrialist friends in higher esteem than the farmers. Such fascist mentality is unacceptable in a democracy.
It is really strange that the Government is prepared to sacrifice its popularity and the votes of the farmers but not the friendship of those who they are close to and on whom they depend for financing the elections. Perhaps, the Government feels that general elections are still over three years away and by then this issue will be forgotten or even more likely that the finances which the Party will by then accumulate due to their links and favours rendered to the corporates will take care of buying votes or the turncoats who are always available at a price. This autocratic and intransigent Government is unwilling to concede defeat and hence refuses to repeal the laws. Surely there is some reason. Putting the blame on the Opposition, especially the Left, for instigating the protests is an indirect acceptance that their adversaries enjoy enough clout to organise such massive protests, which have no precedent in the history of independent India.
This Government is so brazen and shameless that they have stipulated that no suit or no prosecution or other legal proceedings shall lie against the Central or State Government or any officer of these Governments or any other person, which mean Corporations, in respect of anything done in good faith or intended to be done in good faith, under this Act and no Civil Court shall have jurisdiction to entertain any suit or proceedings in respect of any matter connected to the actions under this law. This is dismantling the right to legal recourse, which is the height of intolerance in a so-called democracy.
Just like it is heartening — though I may not subscribe to its ideology — that Shiv Sena rules in Maharashtra, because BJP will not dare even attempt poaching its MLAs, as they will be unsuccessful, it is equally encouraging that the farmers are unwilling to relent, as this is the only community which can teach the adamant and strong-headed fascists a lesson. Let us only hope that the farmers will succeed in making the BJP eat humble pie.
