New Delhi: The Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) Saturday extended its support to the ongoing farmers’ protest against the three newly elected agriculture-related legislations, and alleged the country’s farming laws are being changed to favour multinationals and corporates.
The JIH supports the ongoing protest by farmers against the new farm laws enacted by the Centre, the Islamic body’s vice president Mohammad Saleem Engineer told a press conference.
The three laws concerning contract farming and essential items were passed “hastily” without consultation, and by “bypassing” the parliamentary norm, he charged.
“It is a part of the plan to amend the agriculture laws of the country to the interest of the multinationals and corporates,” Engineer claimed.
Thousands of farmers have blocked some of the highways leading to Delhi for more than two weeks now in protest against the new farm laws which they alleged will lead to the end of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanism and the mandi system for crop procurement.
The government has so far refused to heed to their demand and said these laws will benefit farmers raise their income by offering them better marketing alternatives and agriculture technologies.
The JIH vice president also “condemned” the Uttar Pradesh government’s ordinance on inter-religion marriages, saying it was “targeted” against one community.
The Uttar Pradesh government on November 24 approved a draft ordinance to deal with religious conversion for the sake of marriage, which could land violators in jail for up to 10 years.
“The ordinance is against the Constitution, as it attempts to divide the society on the basis of religion,” Engineer said.