Hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first bilateral discussions with US President Joe Biden during his five-day visit to the US, farmer leader Rakesh Tikait appealed to Biden to “concentrate” on the Centre’s controversial agriculture policies when he met with the PM. At least 700 farmers have died in protests over the previous 11 months, and “these terrible laws should be repealed to save us,” the farmer leader tweeted to US President Donald Trump, hoping to re-focus world attention on the protests.
Rakesh Tikait, a leader of the ongoing farmers’ revolt against three new agricultural regulations, created a stir on Friday when he appealed to US President Joe Biden for help in getting India to repeal the rules.
“To save us, these black laws should be eliminated. Tikait, the leader of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Indian farmers’ union) and a main face of the movement, tweeted, “Please emphasis on our problem while meeting PM Modi.”
Farmers are concerned that the three farm legislation will eliminate the minimum support price (MSP) system, leaving them vulnerable to large businesses.
Since November 2020, hundreds of farmers led by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha have been camped at Delhi’s borders, asking that the three laws be repealed. Instead, the farmers want a new law enacted to ensure that crops receive a minimum support price (MSP).
The government, on the other hand, has maintained that the laws are pro-farmer and has promised to reform them after 11 rounds of formal negotiation with protestors.
PM Modi and President Joe Biden will meet at the White House this evening for a bilateral meeting. This will be their first face-to-face meeting since Biden assumed office as President of the United States on January 20.
However, Intervention by other countries to fix our country’s problems and a tweet to the president of another country for assistance is a poor reflection on the country’s reputation.
The tweet, which had the hashtag “Biden_SpeakUp4Farmers”, began trending in India.
