More than 850 faculty members of various educational institutions across the country have come forward with a signature campaign in support of three contentious farm laws, against which thousands of farmers are protesting on borders of the national capital for over a month saying that they will change farmers’ fortune”. In an open letter, these individuals have said they strongly believe in the government’s assurance to farmers that their livelihood would be protected and the food would not be taken away from their plates.
They further said that the new laws would free farm trade from all restrictions and enable farmers to do all transactions at competitive prices. ‘The Union government has repeatedly assured the farmers that these three bills on farm trade wouldn’t do away with Minimum Support Price (MSP), but rather free the farm trade from all illicit market restrictions, open the market beyond ‘mandis’ and further assists the small and marginal farmers to sell their produce at market/competitive prices,’ the letter signed by 866 persons said. These included faculty members and other functionaries of Delhi University, Banaras Hindu University, JNU, among other educational institutions. The extension of support from the three major agricultural reforms by the academicians comes after several farmers’ groups have welcomed the three farm laws enacted by the Modi government.
