Can’t build new century with old laws’: PM Modi’s pitch for reforms amid farmers’ protest

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asserted that reforms are required for advancement and some statutes from the past century have become an impediment now. The remarks were rendered during the virtual induction of Agra metro rail program, at a time when farmers are boycotting the three laws passed by Parliament.

“Reforms are needed for development. Reforms are very much needed for a new order and to give new facilities. We cannot build the next century with the laws of the previous century,” PM Modi said.

“Some laws that used to be good in the past century have become a burden in the present century. Reforms should be a continuous process,” he added.

The Prime Minister put in that his government is executing “holistic reforms”. “Earlier, reforms used to happen in a piecemeal manner, or keeping in mind some sectors and departments,” he said.

PM Modi’s comments come a day before the ‘Bharat Bandh’ – a nationwide swat buzz given by numerous farmer organisations urging annulment of the three laws passed in September.

The bandh (shutdown) warning has been substantiated by different opposition groups and state governments. However, the Centre has asked all states and union territories to pull taut security, affirming that peace and tranquillity must be conserved during ‘Bharat Bandh’.

The farmers are rebelling against the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

Leading political parties, such as the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Samajwadi Party (SP), Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and Left Front have emerged in backing of the bandh.

The strike is going to have an impact on commuting, particularly in the national capital as most of its peripheries are clogged. The Delhi Traffic Police has broadcasted a schedule of perimeters which are available for people coming from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. Some of the taxi and cab unions, encompassing those correlated with app-based aggregators, have also agreed on to engage in the one-day strike.

Thousands of farmers have assembled at Delhi’s borders to boycott against the new farm laws, which they assert will pave means for the dismantling of the minimum support price (MSP) scheme, evacuating them at the “mercy” of massive corporates.

Conversations between the government and protesting farmers persisted inconclusive on Saturday even after five sessions of dialogues as union leaders glued to their demand for the nullification of the new farm laws.