The passage of two farm reform bills, Farmers Produce Trade and CommerceBill 2020 and the Farmers Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm ServicesBill 2020, by the Indian Parliament in September this year has become abone of contention between farmers and India’s BJP-led national government,leading to widespread protests.

Amid the ongoing protests by farmers in the various parts of India’scapital Delhi, Congress party politician Rahul Gandhilink accused the Narendra Modigovernment of committing atrocities against farmers.

The Congress leader also urged people to join an online campaign to showsolidarity with the cause of the farmers.

Taking to Twitter on Monday, former Congress party chief Gandhi said,”First, it [the Modi government] brought the black laws and then caned theprotesting farmers. But they forgot that when the farmers raise theirvoice, it resonates across the country.”

“Join in protest against the treatment meted out to our fellow farmerbrothers and sisters using #SpeakUpForFarmers,” Gandhi added.

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Farmers from the Punjab, which has a Congress party-led state government,are protesting in the Burari area of New Delhi, while those from UttarPradesh (UP) are camped at the Ghazipur border, which Delhi shares with thestate. Farmers have also threatened that they will jam all the entry pointsto Delhi if their demands are not met.

The farmers are protesting against the Modi government’s two crucial farmreforms laws, which the Indian parliament approved in September this year.

The laws, which aim to promote agricultural sector liberalisation, are theFarmers Produce Trade and Commerce Bill, 2020 and the Farmers Agreement onPrice Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020.

While the first law allows farmers to sell their produce at places apartfrom their designated government run agri market, the second law allowscontract farming under which farmers can enter into supply agreements withprivate firms for remunerative and pre-decided prices.