The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for bringing “anti-farmer laws” like Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance 2020.

Addressing the media, Lok Sabha Member of Parliament Bhagwant Mann and Delhi MLA Jarnail Singh said that these bills are a step towards privatising the farming industry; ‘minimum support price’ will be finished and these bills will give free hand to the private players.

Jarnail Singh also said that the party believes that this bill is another step towards the devastation of Indian farmers. “In Punjab, Bharatiya Janata Party’s ally is Shiromani Akali Dal and they have also ruled Punjab for many years. While the farmers of Punjab are protesting against this bill then why Shiromani Akali Dal has not opposed this bill. The AAP will oppose this bill in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. All the MPs of the APP will stand united in opposition to this bill and will stand for the rights of the farmers,” he said.

Party senior leader Bhagwant Mann said, “We are also opposing the ‘Essential Commodities (Amendment) ordinance 2020’. The most unfortunate part is that the two Shiromani Akali Dal MPs supported this ordinance. The SAD has two MPs in Lok Sabha, Shri Sukhbir Singh Badal and Shrimati Harsimrat Kaur Badal who is also a Cabinet minister. To save a cabinet post, the Shiromani Akali Dal has sold out the rights of the farmers of Punjab.

Mann said that this bill will not only destroy the lives of farmers but also this will destroy the lives of agricultural labourers, people of tractor industry, transportation industry and those working in the mandis and others.