Rahul’s ‘Kisan Yatra’ is in continuation of his attacks on the Modi government over the new farm laws which he has claimed are “anti-farmer”, the return of the ‘East India Company’, and that they will serve as a “stab in the farmers’ hearts”. Since being quarantined following his return from abroad, Rahul also held the second round of interactions with groups of farmers virtually, where he doubled down on his criticism of the Modi government over GST, note ban, and the farm legislation, which he said will “break the backbone” of the farming community in the country. 

 

Speaking to farmers from Bihar, Maharashtra, Haryana and Punjab on Tuesday, all of who argued that the removal of the “safety net” of the agriculture mandis would weaken the farm communities and put them at the mercy of the big retailers, Rahul said, “There is no difference between GST, noteban and these three laws. The only difference is that this is directly stabbing your heart with a knife. But I have clarity that this has to be opposed. Not for farmers, but for the future of India,” he said. 

 

Even though opposition parties, despite their united show could not prevent the passage of the Bills in Parliament, the controversial farm laws are seen within the Congress as a crucial political opportunity to push back an increasingly dominant BJP, possibly the first times since the land acquisition law in 2011 that brought the political opposition together. 

 

Last week, Congress launched a nationwide agitation against the farm legislations passed by Parliament comprising a signature campaign, ‘Kisan sammelans’, protest marches and submission of memorandums to the President and Governors in each state. On Monday, Congress president Sonia Gandhi also advised Congress-ruled states to explore the possibilities of passing state laws under Article 254(2) of the Constitution that allows states to “negate the anti-agriculture central laws encroaching upon the state’s jurisdiction” and to bypass the central laws.