Mithun Rai among Youth Congress Members Detained by Cops for Planning Rally without Permission

Mithun Rai among Youth Congress Members Detained by Cops for Planning Rally without Permission

Mangaluru : Police intervened when District Youth Congress members, including senior congress leaders, held a protest and also tried to take a rally from Town Hall, Mangaluru towards DC’s office, on Saturday, 25 September, who were condemning the Farm Bills passed by the Parliament. Many youth congress members including DK Youth Congress President Mithun Rai, along with other congress leaders, namely- Praveen Chadra Alva, AC Vinayaraj, among others , were detained by the police for not having prior permission to hold a rally, which the protesters were planning to take a rally from Clock Tower to DC’s office.

Prior to getting detained by the cops the protesters raised slogans against the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government and condemned the Farm Bills as being ‘Anti-Farmer’ and supporting BIGWIGS of mega corporates. Addressing the protesters, Mithun Rai said, “It’s a shame to note that the Central government is becoming a puppet at the hands of the investors in implementing this anti-farmer bill. The union government without prior discussions, had passed three farm bills, which has severely affected the farmers. We promise the farmers that we are with them, and along with farmers we will fight for justice. We condemn the Modim led government for snatching away the rights of farmers.”

Earlier in the day, the district Congress held a protest along with other organisations against the Farm Bills passed by the Parliament. All over the country, as many as 31 farmers’ organisations are fighting collectively against these three Bills, and the first agenda on their common programme was the ‘Punjab Bandh’, held 25 September. It is learnt that Farmers in Punjab and Haryana have been protesting against three ordinances promulgated by the Centre on June 5, the ordinances were replaced by three Bills, passed in the monsoon session of Parliament.

Protests were against the three farm reform bills — The Farmers’ Produce Trade And Commerce (Promotion And Facilitation) Bill, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill — passed by the Parliament in the recently concluded Monsoon session. While farmers are protesting against all three bills, their objections are mostly against the provisions of the first. And while there is no uniform demand among the protesters or a unified leadership, it emerges that their concerns are mainly about sections relating to “trade area”, “trader”, “dispute resolution” and “market fee” in the first bill.