THE truth is that the Congress party that is opposing the three central legislations on farm sector suggesting a wide range of reforms, has played foul on the issue only because it suits its politics. This truth now stands exposed when the news filtered out that Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh chose not to implement the reforms suggested by a panel headed by none other than Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the high-profile former chief of the Planning Commission. That happened because the Congress realised that by adopting the reforms suggested by the Montek Singh Ahluwalia panel, it would be helping the Modi-led Central Government in its efforts to introduce reforms in the farm sector that was getting increasingly sluggish with [passage of time.

 

That was what Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi meant to say when he made a specific mention of “U-turn” by the Congress party on the issue of farm reforms. In his reply to the debate on Motion of Thanks to the President for his annual address, Mr Modi did not mince words while exposing the double-standards of the Congress party on the new farm laws. The trouble is that in its myopic view of national affairs, the Congress party does not seem to realise that it is acting against the genuine interest of the farmers. During the parliamentary discussions, speaker after speaker from the Treasury benches brought to fore how the Congress party and its leaders had often talked of reforms in the farm sector from time to time, but how they are trying now to block appropriate legislations on the issue. Mr. Narendra Modi quoted a statement by Dr. Manmohan Singh (when he was Prime Minister) about what actually necessitated farm reforms.

 

Dr. Manmohan Singh who was present in the House at that moment did not refute the Prim e Minister’s assertion. Despite all these realities, the Congress party has found it convenient for its politics to keep opposing the new central farm laws. Of course, a few other parties, too, have joined hands with the Congress party on the issue -- in an obvious attempt to destabilise the nation. So hollow are the protests and so ill-informed that the Congress party MPs had nothing to say when the Government asserted that the principle of minimum Support Price -- MSP -- was there and will continue to be there in the new farm laws as well. Despite this, like obstinate mules, the Opposition MPs refused even to recognise that they were wrong on the MSP count. In the thicket of politics, however, Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia felt that the farm sector could be served the best with the help of appropriate reforms. But then, Captain Amarinder Singh developed cold feet and chose to ignore the Montek recommendations. When politics wins over prudence, only such things are to be expected.

 

The Congress-led political quagmire is really foul this time -- much dirtier than it ever was on any issue in the past couple of decades. Of course, in the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act -- CAA -- the Congress party did play equally foul and tried to mislead the nation. That time, too, the pattern was the same -- senseless opposition, and refusal to engage with the Government in a meaningful dialogue aimed at resolution of whatever the dispute. The details of the manner and method of the protests, of the people involved in the agitation -- including the activist-actor Deep Sidhu -- and of the funding the protesters are getting from agencies with suspect international connections point to a deep-seated conspiracy against not just the Government but also the nation. There are reasons to suspect that the Congress party is masterminding the details -- an act of indulgence in anti-national activities. No democracy can succeed when the country’s main Opposition party indulges in such games. But the very purpose of the Congress party is to see that democracy fails in the country. Of course, it is slated to fail in such a dirty endeavour. For, the nation has no inclination to fail itself on such counts.