The Congress on Monday asserted that it was not opposed to reforms in agriculture but would not allow corporatisation of the sector to the detriment of farmers.

Rahul Gandhi stressed this point by describing the controversial laws as the “Adani-Ambani Laws”. In a tweet on Monday morning, he said: “The ‘Adani-Ambani Farm Laws’ have to be revoked. Nothing less is acceptable.”

In the evening, Rahul issued a call to support Tuesday’s Bharat bandh, again using the label “Adani-Ambani Farm Laws”.

“A peaceful Bharat bandh will be observed on December 8 in support of the farmers’ protest. We fully support the bandh. Injustice and atrocities on farmers is intolerable. Withdraw the Adani-Ambani Farm Laws.”

Party president Sonia Gandhi too has decided not to celebrate her birthday on December 9 in solidarity with the protesting farmers. General secretary in charge of organisation K.C. Venugopal wrote to the state units and frontal organisations of the party not to hold any celebrations, including cake-cutting.

The party has asked its workers to hold demonstrations in every district in the country and ensure the success of the Bharat bandh.

Police stand guard at a blocked border point between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Picture by Prem Singh

Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar later told a news conference: “The Congress is not opposed to reforms in agriculture sector. Rahul Gandhi has also said on several occasions that there is need for improvement in the existing mandi system. But if there is an attempt to hand over the entire agriculture trade to a few corporate houses, we will not allow that. We don’t believe that there are merely some flaws in the three laws; we believe the objective is wrong. The basic intent of the government is under suspicion.”

Jakhar continued: “The objective is corporatisation. The government wants to allow the corporate houses to indulge in cherry-picking, aimed at privatising profits and nationalising losses. The government should not act as a lobbyist of corporate houses.”

The Congress leader said: “Why was a consensus not evolved before enacting the laws? What is happening at Vigyan Bhawan (point-by-point negotiation) should have happened in Parliament.”

Asked why the Opposition parties were not paying heed to the Prime Minister’s repeated assurances that the existing procurement system would not be abolished and the MSP (minimum support price) would continue, Jakhar said: “The question is about lack of credibility. Modiji said notebandi will finish corruption and black money but nothing of that sort happened. Modiji said railways will never be privatised and privatisation started within months. Modiji said the corona battle will be won in 21 days. His track record doesn’t leave any room for trust.”

Jakhar added: “The Prime Minister’s feelings were hurt when Opposition MPs, sitting throughout the night in front of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue on Parliament premises in protest against unconstitutional passage of the farm laws, refused tea brought by the deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha. But his feelings were not hurt when water cannons were used on peaceful march of farmers, roads were dug on the way and lakhs of farmers were forced to sit in this winter on the Delhi border.

“He referred in his last ‘Mann Ki Baat’ to a farmer benefiting from the new laws and the same farmer is now sitting in protest at Singhu border. Now he doesn’t have time to talk to them.”

Jakhar also brought in the national security angle. “Farmers are sitting on Delhi border and their sons are sitting on borders with Pakistan and China. Majority of soldiers come from rural background.

“Food security is part of national security. Our foreign policy can be influenced if we have to depend on any country for food imports. If national security cannot be outsourced, even food security cannot be outsourced,” he said.

Responding to law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad’s charge that the Congress had promised the same in its manifesto, Randeep Surjewala said: “What you are doing is called, Chor machaye shor. Modi government secretly brought ordinance in the darkness of night and pushed the bills through Parliament by voice vote to help crony capitalists. And the blame will be shifted on the Congress!”