The farmers’ protests got another vocal backer and supporter in Rajasthan from the top echelon of INC. Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot on Saturday alleged that the continuous failure of negotiations between the Centre and the farmers has revealed the BJP’s lack of understanding towards the rights of tillers.

“By rejecting the demands of farmers and suppressing the call of justice, the central government has hurt the dignity and democratic system of the country,” the Congress leader said in a tweet.

“The continuous failure of negotiations between the central government and the farmers has revealed BJP’s lack of understanding towards farming and the rights of tillers,” Pilot tweeted. This shows that Pilot is focussing the attention on the failure of the BJP to grasp the plight of the farmers and respect their rights.

Also See: Overview of the Farmers’ unions in the protests

Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at several Delhi border points since November 28, demanding a repeal of the three farm laws and asking for a legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP) for their crops. Various other support groups and farmer-unions from other parts of the country like Maharashtra, TN, and MP are also present at the Delhi borders. Some farmers from Karnataka are also on the way to meet the farmers camping at the Delhi border, especially for participation in the January 26 tractor rally.

Also See: An overview of Farmers’ protests-role of Charan Singh

Enacted in September last year, the three laws have been projected by the Centre as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove middlemen and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country. But, many experts have suspicions that the laws have purportedly been designed to specifically help the two corporate houses- Adani and Ambani while destroying the Mandi (wholesale market) support system for farmers.  It has also been reported (The Associate Times) that the Biden administration may go for stringent actions against the Ambani and Adani houses using the Magnitsky Act 2012 in the context of the farmers’ protests, as the response by GOI is being observed to be violating the human rights of the farmers. The protesting farmers have also expressed their apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of MSP, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.

Also Read: Components of the farm laws- their harmful impacts on Agriculture

There are points in the laws that raise serious issues, like the contracts can be terminated anytime and that there would be the creation of a new spawn of middlemen who would be controlled by the government. There is also the proposition of removal of the involvement of judiciary from the grievance redressal system of the farmers. All these make the protests justified. Hence, the support from Sachin Pilot comes as a morale booster for the protesting farmers.