PRESS RELEASE
28 March 2022
PRESS RELEASE
28 March 2022
On 28 March 2022 the incoming merger of Swatantra Bharat Paksha into Swarna Bharat Party was completed. As part of the merger, the party is now called Swatantra Bharat Party. The rest of the details including bank account number and registration number with the Election Commission of India remain unchanged.
Sh. Pankaj Das has now transitioned from the role of President of Swarna Bharat Party to that of Secretary of the combined Party - and Sh. Anil Ghanwat has taken over as the combined Party's President.
Candidates will only be able to contest elections under this new name once ECI has taken note of the merger and name change in its records under section 29A(9) of the Representation of People's Act ("After an association or body has been registered as a political party as aforesaid, any change in its name, head office, office-bearers, address or in any other material matters shall be communicated to the Commission without delay"). The merger resolutions, name change information, etc. are being provided to ECI.
PRESS R]]>
PRESS RELEASE at the Pune Press Club
(Marathi version of the Press Release)
Open letter to PM: PDF - signed copy | Word version
Open Letter to Chairman, SEBI: PDF - signed copy | Word version
Mr Anil Ghanwat, senior leader of Shetkari Sanghatna and President of Swatantra Bharat Party today wrote an Open Letter to the Prime Minister of India, outlining a plan of action to demand reforms.
1. Technology freedom: Lift the moratorium on GM by 16 February 2022
Mr Ghanwat said that India’s farmers can feed a growing India, even as farmers’ incomes grow rapidly, through biotechnology. He said that Bt Brinjal was approved in 2009 by the Indian regulator but the Congress government froze the approval. In the meantime, seven years ago, Bt brinjal was approved by neighbouring Bangladesh and its citizens have been eating it for the past many years.
On 19 July 2019 in response to question 4441 in the Lok Sabha, the Mr Modi’s BJP government said in the Parliament: “There is no scientific evidence to prove that GM crops are unsafe” .
Despite this, the Modi government continues to block GM crops in India.
He said Swatantra Bharat Party wants the Modi government to lift the moratorium on GM approvals by 16 February 2022. Else, Swatantra Bharat Party along with Shetkari Sanghatana will start a Feed India movement from 17 February 2022 in which farmers will what are falsely labelled as “illegal” GM seeds. He said he will also issue a Feed India paper on 17 February 2022 to outline the benefits of biotechnology and highlight the failures of mandatory natural farming.
Mr Ghanwat expressed great concern about the Prime Minister’s taking about an India “free from chemical fertilisers and pesticides”. If that happens, millions will fall deeper into hunger and malnutrition. He wanted Mr Modi to confirm that no taxpayer funds will be spent on natural farming. Mr Ghanwat noted a suspicion among farmers that natural farming is being promoted by the government in order to cut fertiliser subsidy. The subsidy must only be removed after the full suite of reforms has been enacted and farmers compensated for decades of negative subsidy.
Mr Ghanwat said that the country needs the slogan: “Biotechnology to feed India, Natural farming to starve India”. He said without high-yielding varieties of seeds that led to the Green Revolution, India could not have fed its growing population.
He said that Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) is a complete failure and can never help either the farmer or the land which is our mother. He said that the originator of ZBNF had to give up cultivating his own land in Amaravati. In his own village there are no takers for his ideas. Most ZBNF followers give it up within three years.
On 12 January 2021, it was reported in The Financial Express that: “Large scale adoption of ZBNF – farm practices which exclude all synthetic chemical inputs and promote use of on-farm biomass – would result in ‘tremendous reduction’ in production of agricultural crops thus comprising India’s food security” [1]. With mandatory natural farming, the poor people of neighbouring Sri Lanka are facing starvation and its leaders have been forced to come to India’s doors to beg for food.
Mr Ghanwat said that as an agriculture science graduate he is in favour of all innovative technologies to reduce the use of chemicals, but the choice of technology must be left to farmers so long as they use chemicals in the prescribed manner.
2. Economic freedom: White Paper, Discussion Paper, Supreme Court Committee Report
Mr Ghanwat repeated his demand of 22 November 2021 in the Open Letter, for the government to establish a Committee with representation of all views to prepare a White Paper on agriculture policy that considers costs and benefits of options, consults widely and recommends a way forward. The legislation resulting from such a process would be acceptable to India’s long-suffering farmers.
Mr Ghanwat said in the Open Letter that it is almost a year since the Supreme Court Committee Report on Farm Laws submitted its Report to the Hon’ble Supreme Court. If the Hon’ble Court does not release the Report soon despite his two letters seeking its publication, Mr Ghanwat will make it public to inform policymakers, noting that the overwhelming majority of the submissions received were supportive of the now-repealed farm laws.
In the Open Letter Mr Ghanwat said that Swatantra Bharat Party is working on a Discussion Paper on Agriculture Policy. He invited views at discussion@swatantra.org.in. He said that if the Prime Minister doesn’t commission a White Paper to progress reforms, he may need to bring farmers to Delhi to demand reforms.
3. Stop arbitrary interventions
In the Open Letter Mr Ghanwat also asked the Modi government to stop arbitrary interference in the markets, as illustrated by SEBI’s decision decisions of 2021 to bar futures and options contracts chana, mustard, wheat, soyabean, oil, soya De Oiled Cake, moong, and others. Futures and options market play a very important role in fetching better prices for farmers. Such arbitrary actions create uncertainty for farmers and investors and amount to a confiscation of property rights.
4. Open Letter to Chairman SEBI
Mr Ghanwat also released an Open Letter that he has written to day on behalf a number of farmer organisations to Mr Ajay Tyagi, Chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The letter points out the grievous harm caused to farmers by SEBI’s recent actions and asks for the bans on agriculture items for futures and options trading to be reversed immediately.
Minimal role for government in business
Finally, Mr Ghanwat said that the core message of India’s tradition is Jahaan Ka Raja Ho Vyapaari, Vahaan Ki Janata Bhikhari. Where the king is a trader, the people are beggars. Unfortunately, since independence, India’s governments have adopted Karl Marx’s hatred for profit and choked innovation and entrepreneurship. They should focus only on their duty, their Dharma – which is to ensure justice, security and infrastructure. We need Minimum Government, Maximum Governance.
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Notes for Editors
Swatantra Bharat Party was founded in 1994 in the tradition of Rajaji’s Swatantra Party by Sharad Joshi (who became a member of the Rajya Sabha in 2004). In 2013, Sanjeev Sabhlok helped establish Swarna Bharat Party (http://swarnabharat.in). These two parties are now merging to create India’s first large-scale liberal party since the Swatantra Party.
An electronic copy of this press release and the Open Letters (1) to the Prime Minister and (2) to the Chairman of SEBI are available at: https://bit.ly/3357Va5 or at https://bit.ly/3qkmWgL
Contacts:
Anil Ghanwat, Former President Shetkari Sanghatana (currently a senior leader), and President, Swatantra Bharat Party, Ph: 9923707686, email: ghanwatanil77@gmail.com
Pankaj Das, President Swarna Bharat Party, Guwahati, +91 97060 49270, daspankaj01@gmail.com
Sanjeev Sabhlok, Adviser to both parties, sabhlok@gmail.com
]]>23 November 2021
PRESS RELEASE
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23 November 2021 PRESS RELEASE [PDF] [PDF of the (unsigned) letter to the Supreme Court of India - and the Word version] [Receipt from India Post] Mr Anil Ghanwat, senior leader of Shetkari Sanghatna and President of Swatantra Bharat Party today publicly released a copy of the letter he has written to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, requesting the release the Report of the Farm Laws Committee. The Report can play an educational role and ease the misapprehensions of many farmers about reforms. Recalling the many decades of effort of Mr Sharad Joshi to remove the shackles placed by the government on India’s farmers – shackles that have harmed hundreds of millions of people and impoverished rural areas – Mr Ghanwat said that Mr Joshi would have approved of Mr Modi’s farm laws which were an attempt to loosen these chains. While these three laws fell short of Mr Joshi’s dream for India, these laws could have potentially been made to work and improved in the course of time. Unfortunately, there has been a tendency to bulldoze policies without adequate consultation and education of the country. Reforms which affect a large number of people require broad-based consensus. That there are no shortcuts to good public policy. Had the Government consulted with farmers and educated them systematically in advance of making the laws, the outcome would have been quite different. Sadly, the current approach has allowed some leaders to mislead farmers. Such leaders do not understand the price system and how a minimally regulated free market can allocate national resources to their most productive use. Such leaders are causing enormous national harm, not just to farmers. For many decades India’s farmers, as entrepreneurs in their own right, have suffered from lack of understanding or focus on their regulatory needs for production and marketing. The regulation imposed on them has choked their production and marketing efforts. Much of this regulation is sheltered in Schedule 9 of the Constitution: away from judicial scrutiny. Regulation is intended to reduce any harm caused by an entrepreneur’s action, but in the case of farmers, regulation has itself been the cause of harm both to the farmers and to the environment. Many of India’s farmers are desperate for renewed, not less, focus on reforms – particularly market freedom and technology freedom. The reform impulse reflected in the farm laws (despite their shortcomings) must not be abandoned by the Modi Government. While requesting the Supreme Court to release the Committee’s report, Mr Ghanwat has also sought a direction from the Court to the Government to develop and implement a robust policy process. A robust policy process for making new farm laws would involve establishing a Committee with representation of all views. The Committee would prepare a White Paper that considers costs and benefits of options, consults widely and recommends a way forward. The legislation resulting from such a process would be acceptable to India’s long-suffering farmers. Sequencing of reforms must include the waiver of farmer loans (once the reforms are implemented) so that the negative subsidy for agriculture is at least partially compensated. Further, the White Paper must consider the total suite of reforms, not in a piecemeal manner like these three farm laws had done. Mr Ghanwat said he is happy to assist the Modi Government in developing a White Paper. Mr Ghanwat has recently handed over the role of President of Shetkari Sanghatana to Mr Lalit Bahale and has been elected as the President of Swatantra Bharat Party. In that broader capacity as leader of India’s major liberal party, he emphasised the need for a broader range of reforms and better regulation of industry to make it attractive for Indian and foreign investors to invest in India, including in cold chains and food processing. Mr Sanjeev Sabhlok, former IAS officer of the 1982 batch who resigned in 2001 in order to promote liberty and good governance in India, and advises both Swatantra Bharat Party and Swarna Bharat Party, then spoke about the need for reforms to make India a Sone ki Chidiya again: the world’s Number One in prosperity and defence capability. Mr Sabhlok said India needs to focus on its own culture of Shubh Labh (which considers honestly made profit to be a good thing) and aspiration for Ram Rajya in which the king does not operate banks, run public buses and hotels, trade in foodgrains, or produce cement. India’s culture contains the key principles of good economic policy that were discovered thousands of years later by the West. For instance, Kautilya’s Arthashastra elaborates upon free trade and good regulation as the pillars of prosperity. The core message of India’s tradition is Jahaan Ka Raja Ho Vyapaari, Vahaan Ki Janata Bhikhari. This means that where the king is a trader, the people are beggars. Unfortunately, since independence, India’s governments have aped Karl Marx’s hatred for profit and have choked innovation and entrepreneurship. They should focus only on their prescribed duty, their prescribed Dharma – which is to ensure justice, security and infrastructure. We need Minimum Government, Maximum Governance. Instead, we have Maximum Government, Minimum Governance. otes for Editors Contacts: Anil Ghanwat, Former President Shetkari Sanghatana (currently a senior leader), and President, Swatantra Bharat Party, Ph: 9923707686/ 9324062323, email: ghanwatanil77@gmail.com Pankaj Das, President Swarna Bharat Party, Guwahati, +91 97060 49270, daspankaj01@gmail.com Sanjeev Sabhlok, Adviser to both parties, sabhlok@gmail.com
Swatantra Bharat Party was founded in 1994 in the tradition of Rajaji’s Swatantra Party by Sharad Joshi (who later became an MP in the Rajya Sabha). In 2013, Sanjeev Sabhlok helped establish Swarna Bharat Party (http://swarnabharat.in). These two parties are in the process of merging to create India’s first large-scale liberal party since the Swatantra Party.
26 February 2021 – for immediate release
Swarna Bharat Party (SBP) President Mr Pankaj Das welcomes the announcement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the government plans to privatize 100 PSUs and his comment that the government should not be in the business of doing business.
Ever since its inception, SBP has been explaining to voters in villages and small towns of India about the need for economic freedom and why, as part of this, PSUs need to be privatized so that taxpayers’ money can be released for development of these towns and villages and to provide better security, justice, infrastructure and funding for the poor.
Privatization of the many loss-making PSUs will also be in the interests of many of their workers who do not get salaries for months on end. In the absence of revenues and profits from their companies they have to rely on government dole which comes sporadically and after much delay, leaving these workers in tremendous economic distress. We believe these workers should be looked after as part of the privatization effort.
The economic devastation from covid lockdowns has been tremendous. There is no way that India’s government can fund public expenditures by increasing taxes. The government has no other choice but to monetize the PSUs to help revive the economy.
Mr Pankaj Das said that it is important for Mr Modi should keep his word. He often says the right things but then does the opposite. For instance, in 2014 he had the slogan “Minimum Government, Maximum Governance” but he increased the size of government in a manner few other Prime Ministers have done. And while he said “Inspiration, Not Imposition”, he then praised the most draconian prohibition of Bihar and imposed the most brutal lockdown in the world. He came as a reformer but ended up reversing a number of reforms such as by reimposing import duties on consumer products.
Mr Pankaj Das also noted that if the governance system, security and justice are not fixed first then privatisation could well breed crony capitalism. For SBP, security and justice are the cornerstone of our ideology and on these basic issues India has failed under Mr Modi. SBP also believes privatisation of PSUs is not enough. The government needs to divest its role in banking and insurance as well, as these areas are riddled with corruption and inefficiency - and are inconsistent with the functions of government.
Notes for Editors
SBP is India’s only liberal party, committed to defending liberty and promoting prosperity. We are committed to making India Number One.
Contact:
Pankaj Das, President SBP, Guwahati, +91 97060 49270
]]>Swarna Bharat Party welcomes this submission and hopes that the Supreme Court will provide a judgement that resolves the current impasse with farmers across India in an amicable manner and that ensures improved prosperity for all Indians in the future and better prospects for farmers' children.
The Shetkari Sanghatana's submission (as a PDF) can be downloaded from here.
In this regard, Swarna Bharat Party's submission and other relevant documents are available here: http://swarnabharat.in/farmers
]]>5 February 2021 – for immediate release [download a PDF version] - Hindi version.
On 5 February 2021, a senior team of Swarna Bharat Party (SBP), India’s only liberal party, met the Supreme Court Committee on Farm Laws and explained the Party’s position on the farm laws.
The Party had already lodged its submission with the Committee on 31 January 2021. The submission is available at http://swarnabharat.in/farmers.
SBP’s team comprised Sh Sanjay Garg of Jaipur, the National Vice-President of the Party; Sh. Rahul Pandit of Hyderabad, the President of the Telangana State Unit; and Sh. Rabi Kant Bharti of Bhadohi, the President of the Uttar Pradesh State Unit.
Repeal the laws
At the Committee meeting Sh. Garg recalled Sh. Lal Bahadur Shastri’s slogan: Jai Jawaan, Jai Kisaan. The same respect that we give to the soldier is also due to the farmer.
India’s institutions of governance must never disrespect any voices of dissent or ignore the complex nature of India’s democracy. Sh. Garg said that the Modi government must show respect for the farmer by repealing these laws and committing to a far more consultative process. He mentioned that if such goodwill is not shown towards the farmers, there is a risk that the resistance engendered by the way these reforms have been implemented could set back the agriculture sector by many decades.
Sh. Garg said that India’s liberals have been demanding farm sector reforms for seven decades and we believe the three farm laws are broadly in the right direction but it was a mistake for the Modi government to force them through Parliament without undertaking sufficient preparation and consultation. Reforms that affect such a large number of people require a broad-based consensus. The cause of reforms will be ill-served by forcing them down the throat of the nation.
Sh. Garg noted that these laws are effectively dead and there’s no point in flogging a dead horse. The fact that the Modi government offered to freeze these laws for 18 months during negotiations with the famers was a clear acknowledgement of the impossibility of implementing these reforms. These 18 months should be used for a much better, consultative process. And in any case, it no longer matters what the Modi government wants – the Supreme Court now controls the fate of these laws.
Issue a White Paper
Sh. Garg said that while announcing the repeal of the laws, the Modi government must commit to preparing a White Paper that provides the rationale for reform, its long-term objectives and sequencing. But even if the Modi government decides not to repeal the laws, it should produce a White Paper to provide clarity to the country. The country needs to know where we are going.
Our party’s submission provides extensive recommendations on the policy and governance issues that a White Paper by the Modi government should consider. We need total reforms, not piecemeal reforms, but with proper transitional arrangements and sequencing.
The separation of powers
At the Committee meeting, Sh. Garg expressed concern about the risk that the Supreme Court might inadvertently enter into the policy-making space and thereby breach the separation of powers between the Parliament and the Judiciary, damaging the basic structure of the Constitution.
Our party considers that the Court should limit itself to the examination of constitutional and process issues and not engage itself in the merit of the farm policy. The Court and its Committee should uphold the primacy of the Parliament in making policy. Instead of providing policy recommendations, the Farm Laws Committee can do a great deal of good by recommending a robust policy process for Indian governments to follow.
Such a policy process could include: (a) the necessity of a White Paper for major policy changes, (b) wide consultation with stakeholders, and (c) a policy framework for the design of the underlying policy similar to the 10-point framework used by our party.
Eight amendments to the laws
Sh. Garg and the party’s leaders outlined at the meeting eight policy options to amend these three laws to make them more acceptable to farmers. These options are detailed in the Party’s submission.
The Party, however, acknowledges that amending these laws is probably not feasible at this stage given what has happened over the past few months. A full review of the agricultural regulatory system is needed as part of the White Paper.
Sh. Garg and the party’s senior leaders ended the party’s presentation to the Committee with the hope that the agitating farmers and the Modi government will see the value of reforming the agriculture sector in the right way – with due process and consultation.
We believe that something worth doing is worth doing well.
Our Party is convinced that reforms cannot be successful if they lead to rancour and unrest. The nation must pause and ask who we are as a people and what we want to be – whether we want to live our lives shackled by the government or as free men. Let us discuss this – and the intrinsic value of freedom – with the farmers and with all Indians.
Notes for Editors
SBP is India’s only liberal party, committed to defending liberty and promoting prosperity. We are committed to making India Number One.
Contact:
Sanjay Garg (Jaipur), National Vice President, +91 9829157043
Rahul Pandit (Hyderabad), President, Telangana, +91 9703425422
Rabi Kant Bharti (Bhadohi), President, U.P., +91 9651799158
५ फ़रवरी २०२१
भारत की एकमात्र स्वतंत्रतावादी र]]>
५ फ़रवरी २०२१
भारत की एकमात्र स्वतंत्रतावादी राजनीतिक संगठन स्वर्ण भारत पार्टी के वरिष्ठ नेताओं ने सुप्रीम कोर्ट द्वारा गठित किसान सुधारो की समीक्षा समिति से मिलकर अपने सुझाव दिए ।
पार्टी के सुझाव इस मुलाक़ात से पहले ३१ जनवरी २०२१ को लिखित रूप में दिए जा चुके है http://swarnabharat.in/farmers पर उपलब्ध है ।
राष्ट्रीय उपाध्यक्ष संजय गर्ग ; उत्तर प्रदेश इकाई के प्रतिनिधि रबिकांत भारती और तेलंगाना राज्य के प्रदेश अध्यक्ष राहुल पंडित ने समिति के सदस्यों से मुलाक़ात किया ।
कमेटी से मीटिंग में श्री संजय गर्ग ने लाल बहादुर शास्त्री के लिए नारे जय जवान जय किसान को याद करते हुए कहा कि जो सम्मान हम अपने सैनिकों को देते हैं वही सम्मान हमें किसानों को देने की आवश्यकता है
उन्होंने आगे बोला कि भारत के सभी संस्थानों को किसी भी तरह के लोकतांत्रिक विरोध की आवाज को दबाना नहीं चाहिए भारत के लोकतंत्र की विविधता को देखते हुए यह जरूरी है कि वर्तमान सरकार अभी लागू किए गए किसान कानूनों को तुरंत वापस ले और एक आपस मैं बातचीत वाले तरीके को अपनाएं
संजय गर्ग ने कहा कि अगर किसानों के प्रति सहानुभूति और किसानों की मांगों को बिना समझे हुए किसी भी तरह के सुधार वाले कानूनों को लागू किया जाता है तो इससे फायदे से अधिक नुकसान होने की संभावना है और हमारा कृषि क्षेत्र कई दशकों के लिए पीछे जा सकता है
श्री गर्ग ने आगे कानूनों के बारे में बात करते हुए कहा कि पिछले 70 सालों से भारत की स्वतंत्रता वादी शक्तियां राजनैतिक संगठन किस प्रकार के कानूनों की मांग करते रहे हैं और सिद्धांत तक मोदी सरकार के द्वारा किए गए यह जो सुधार हैं उनका समर्थन करते हैं
कृषि सुधारों की द्वारा जो व्यापकता है उसको देखते हुए यह बहुत आवश्यक है कि कृषि क्षेत्र से जुड़े हुए सारे घटकों को विश्वास में लिया जाए और वर्तमान सरकार द्वारा बिना किसी आपस की बातचीत के इन सुधारों को लागू किए जाने से बहुत ही अधिक विरोध की आवाज सुनाई पड़ी है
श्री गर्ग ने कहा कि मोदी सरकार द्वारा अब 18 महीनों के लिए इन सुधारों से संबंधित आगे की बातचीत के लिए जो समय तय किया गया है उसको देखते हुए ऐसा प्रतीत होता है कि आप इन सुधारों को इन्हीं रूप में लागू करना लगभग असंभव होगा यह 18 महीने का समय और अधिक घटकों को आपस में बातचीत और समझौते के रास्ते से इस्तेमाल किया जाना चाहिए
सरकार द्वारा इन सुधारों को एकतरफा ढंग से लागू किए जाने की वजह से यह सुधार अब उच्चतम न्यायालय की शरण में है और सुप्रीम कोर्ट भी इनके बारे में अब निर्णय लेता हुआ प्रतीत होता है
स्वर्ण भारत पार्टी के राष्ट्रीय उपाध्यक्ष श्री संजय गर्ग ने इन कानूनों को वापस लेते हुए मोदी सरकार को आगे अपना सुझाव दिया कि श्वेत पत्र तुरंत इस मसले को लेकर के जारी किया जाए और लॉन्ग टर्म लक्ष्यों को निर्धारित करते हुए सरकार को सारे घटकों को विश्वास में लेते हुए देश की जनता को विश्वास में लेते हुए कृषि क्षेत्र में छोटे-मोटे सुधारों के अतिरिक्त पूर्ण रूप से आजादी स्वतंत्रता लाने वाले सुधारों के ऊपर एक उचित कदम लिया जाना चाहिए
कमेटी के साथ मीटिंग के साथ श्री गर्ग ने इस बात पर भी चिंता जाहिर की कि इस प्रकार के कदमों से शक्ति संतुलन को भी खतरा महसूस होता है और न्यायपालिका और विधि पालिका के बीच के संतुलन को बनाए रखने के लिए जरूरी है कि आगामी सुधारों के लिए हमेशा संसद समाज के विभिन्न घटक और उनसे प्रभावित होने वाले आम जनों को बातचीत के जरिए ही इस प्रकार के व्यापक कानूनों में बदलाव की आवश्यकता होती है
कृषि कानूनों के संबंध में उन्होंने तीन कदम में अपनी बात कही पहला नीतियों से संबंधित एक परिपत्र जारी किया जाए दूसरा समाज के सभी घटकों के साथ सलाह मशविरा किया जाए तीसरा एक 10 सूत्रीय कार्यक्रम बनाया जाए जैसा कि हमारी पार्टी हमेशा इस प्रकार के किसी भी नीतिगत मसलों में करती आई है
स्वर्ण भारत पार्टी के वरिष्ठ नेताओं ने इन तीन कृषि कानूनों के संबंध में 8 प्रस्तावित सुधारों के बारे में किसानों की मांग का समर्थन करते हुए उन मांगों को सही परिपेक्ष में परीक्षण करने के लिए कहा और पार्टी ने अपने सुझाव पत्र में यह विकल्पों का जिक्र भी किया है
स्वर्ण भारत पार्टी का ऐसा मानना है कि इस समय इन सुधारों को लागू करना बहुत कठिन होगा और कृषि संबंधित हर तरह के कानून का पूरी समीक्षा करने की आवश्यकता है और एक श्वेत पत्र तुरंत जारी किया जाए
पार्टी के नेताओं ने कमेटी से बात करते हुए यह आशा जताई कि सरकार और आंदोलनकारी किसानों के बीच में शीघ्र ही शांति समझौता होते हुए कृषि क्षेत्र को सही दिशा में ले जाने के लिए प्रभावी और सब को स्वीकार होने वाले कानूनों का तुरंत निर्माण किया जाएगा
स्वर्ण भारत पार्टी पूर्ण स्वतंत्र नागरिक व्यवस्था और कृषि व्यवस्था और अन्य व्यवस्थाओं को भी पूर्ण स्वतंत्रता देने का पुरजोर समर्थन करती है परंतु किसी भी प्रकार के सुधारों के पूर्व सभी प्रभावित होने वाले नागरिकों से संगठनों से पूरी पारदर्शिता के साथ चर्चा की जानी चाहिए
Notes for Editors
SBP is India’s only liberal party, committed to defending liberty and promoting prosperity. We are committed to making India Number One.
Contact:
Sanjay Garg (Jaipur), National Vice President, +91 9829157043
Rahul Pandit (Hyderabad), President, Telangana, +91 9703425422
Rabi Kant Bharti (Bhadohi), President, U.P., +91 9651799158
1 F]]>
1 February 2021 – for immediate release [PDF]
On 30 January 2021, Sh Pankaj Das, President of Swarna Bharat Party (SBP), India’s only liberal party, lodged a detailed submission with the Supreme Court Committee on Farm Laws.
The submission, available at http://swarnabharat.in/farmers, notes that Sh. Sharad Joshi, the founder of Shetkari Sanghatana, had documented the negative subsidy received by Indian farmers. India’s governments have systematically sucked the blood of our farmers since independence.
SBP considers that the 2020 farm laws are a major step forward in liberating India’s farmers from bondage to socialist controls that have attacked their basic freedom of occupation and property rights.
However, our party agrees with the agitating farmers that these laws have not adequately considered their concerns during the legislative process. There are significant shortcomings in the way these laws have been made without prior discussion with farmers or even within the Parliament.
Having effectively accepted a freeze of 18 months on the laws, it is best that the Modi Government repeal the farm laws and re-start the process by preparing a White Paper. But even if the Modi Government chooses not to repeal the laws, it should produce a White Paper that provides the rationale for reform including its long-term objectives.
SBP’s submission raises significant concerns about the risk that the Supreme Court might inadvertently enter into the policy making space and thereby breach the separation of powers between the Parliament and the Judiciary. We consider that the Court should limit itself to the examination of constitutional and process matters and not engage itself in the merit of the farm policy. The Supreme Court and the Committee on Farm Laws should uphold the primacy of the Parliament in making policy and thus protect the basic structure of the Constitution.
Our party considers that instead of going into details regarding the policy, the Farm Laws Committee can do a great deal of good if it recommends a robust policy process for Indian governments to follow. Such a policy process could include: (a) the necessity of a White Paper for major policy changes, (b) wide consultation with stakeholders, and (c) a policy framework for the design of the underlying policy similar to the 10-point framework used by our party (https://swarnabharat.in/policyframework).
Apart from discussing what a good policy process should look like, our party’s submission discusses a range of policy issues for consideration in a potential White Paper, as well as policy options to amend these three laws to make them more acceptable to farmers.
Notes for Editors
SBP is India’s only liberal party, committed to defending liberty and promoting prosperity.
Contact:
Pankaj Das (Guwahati), National President, +91 97060 49270
Sanjay Garg (Jaipur), National Vice President, +91 9829157043
PRESS NOTE
Shetkari Sanghatana opposes restrictions on the use of glyphosate
Glyphosate is one of the most commonly used herbicides by farmers in India. The Central government has recently issued a Gazette notification proposing to control the use of glyphosate, a herbicide that is widely preferred by farmers. This restriction will significantly increase the burden on farmers who are already in distress. Shetkari Sanghatana is calling on farmers across India to file their objections against the new form restrictions on the use of glyphosate, said Anil Ghanwat, president of the Sanghatana.
Today, farmers are facing acute shortage of farm labour in much of rural India. Weeding is extremely labour intensive, it is back breaking labour, and therefore adds significantly to the costs of farming. Herbicides like glyphosate have helped farmers reduce the cost of weeding very significantly, effectively and safely. In the Vidarbha region, the heartland of cotton, farmers typically save Rs 5000 to Rs 10,000 per acre just on the labour cost on account of weeding, by using glyphosate.
Glyphosate is registered as a herbicide. It has been used primarily in tea plantations for decades, without any impact on human health or the environment. Globally, glyphosate has been used since 1973, and the patent expired in 2000. In the past twenty years, the lower price, and its effectiveness against weeds, have made this herbicide very attractive to farmers across India. Equally importantly, by killing the weeds on the field, the herbicide helps to enrich the soil as well.
Today, glyphosate is being used not only in a wide range of plantations crops and fruit orchards, it is also being used by rice farmers, particularly those who are adopting direct seeding of rice method, during the pre-sowing ground preparations. Glyphosate is also being used by many cotton farmers, who spray close to the ground using a hood over the nozzle so that the herbicide doesn’t affect the cotton plant. (Any other major crop where glyphosate is being used ?)
However, the Central government, apparently at request of the government of Kerala, has proposed that application of glyphosate be allowed only by the authorised Pest Control Operators (PCOs). In the notification, the Ministry of Agriculture has invited objections to be filed by July 30.
Why glyphosate is being singled out?
There are around 120 registered herbicides products and combinations, available in India, as of January 2020. Glyphosate is being used widely for decades, in India, and elsewhere. Farmers buy herbicide and apply it on their fields only because it helps them nurture their crops better, by eliminating weeds that take away moisture and nutrients from the soil. By lowering costs, and improving crops, farmers hope to have a better earning from their fields.
Farmers want to know why glyphosate is being singled out, and its use sought to be restricted.
Decisions without Evidence
Glyphosate is only the latest pesticide which is being restricted. Since 2018, the government of India has banned 45 pesticides. There has been no demand for such bans from the farmers. Farmers choose to spend their hard earned money on various pesticides because they believe that the additional expenditure brings them some benefit. To suggest otherwise, will imply that farmers don’t know what is their own best interest !
However, the new restrictions on glyphosate, together with the earlier bans on dozens of pesticides, all have a similar pattern. The government is increasingly taking decisions without providing any evidence to justify those decisions, although it impacts the lives and livelihood of millions of Indian farmers.
The World Health Organisation says that there is no evidence that glyphosate causes cancer. The US EPA had evaluated glyphosate as "possible human carcinogen" (group C) but later recommended it to group D, "not classifiable as human carcinogen". In 1991, it was classified as Group E: "Evidence of Non-Carcinogenicity for Humans", and in 2015 and 2017, "Not Likely to be Carcinogenic to Humans".
It is surprising that the government has not indicated any new research or study to justify imposing new restrictions on the use of glyphosate.
The farmers want to know the basis for restricting the use of glyphosate.
Lack of Capacity to Implement the decisions
The notification on glyphosate says that only the PCOs will be allowed to apply the herbicide on the field. But in most of rural India PCOs hardly have any presence, leave alone the capacity to organise timely spray of herbicide on farmers fields at different stages of the crop cycle, and across different crops.
Shortage of agriculture labour is one of the key reasons for Indian farmers to look for herbicides. The question is how would PCOs find the necessary labour to undertake timely spraying of glyphosate on farmers' fields. Therefore, this decision to restrict the use of glyphosate can only be seen as yet another misguided way to create employment in rural areas.
If this decision is implemented, the farmers will end up having to pay a much higher price for getting their fields sprayed with glyphosate. This will invariably increase the cost of farming, and therefore reduce their income.
Worse, this decision will invariably lead to black market in herbicides on the one hand. And on the other hand, it will encourage unscrupulous elements to sell spurious herbicides. Either way, farmers will end up bearing the burden of higher price or poorer quality, or both.
The farmers want to know why they always have to bear the cost of decisions taken by those who have little or no stake in farming.
Glyphosate improves soil health
Many farmers who use glyphosate say that it makes soil more porous and aerated. Fields sprayed with glyphosate have higher levels of carbon because the rotting roots of weed help in carbon fixation in the soil. Farmers also say that fields sprayed with glyphosate attract earthworms in a couple of weeks improving the soil health.
Glyphosate, like many GM crops, actually reduces the level of agrochemicals, including pesticides needed, thereby improving farm productivity as well as the environment.
The farmers want to know why they are always the first ones to be denied the benefits of modern science and technology.
Agriculture victim of ad hoc and arbitrary decisions
Consumption of pesticides, including herbicides, in India is among the lowest in the world, according to FAO. While pesticide consumption in India has increased over the past decade, it still ranges between 0.35 to 0.6 kg per hectare, compared to over 10 kg per hectare in China, Israel, Japan or South Korea. Glyphosate is among the most widely preferred herbicides of farmers, particularly in major agricultural countries like Australia, Brazil, Canada, China and the United States.
The Kerala government had imposed a ban on glyphosate for 90 days in early 2019. Their attempt to extend the ban beyond 90 days was denied by the High Court, when some farmers knocked at the door of the court. The law says that state governments cannot impose a ban for more than 90 days, only the central govt can do so. It is in this context that the Central government issued the notification to restrict the use of glyphosate.
There are 290 registered pesticides in India, as of March 2020. The list includes fungicides, herbicides and insecticides. The ad hoc and arbitrary decisions regarding agricultural practices are just adding to the uncertainty, and insecurity among the farming communities.
The farmers want to know why agriculture always becomes the victim of ad hoc and arbitrary decisions of the government.
Farmers want freedom from regulatory chains
Shetkari Sanghatana, founded by late shri Sharad Joshi in 1979, has always stood against various regulatory and legal restrictions that have trapped most Indian farmers in poverty, and prevented Indian agriculture from attaining its true potential. The Sanghatana is preparing to file its objections to the proposed restrictions of glyphosate. The Sanghatana urges other farmers organisations and progressive farmers to make their own submissions against this proposal. The Sanghatana also wants to bring to the notice of the general public that there are anti-development, anti-science, anti-prosperity sentiments that are masquerading as pro-farmers movements, while actively seeking to extend the regulatory chains that only tie Indian farmers to poverty. The proposal restricting glyphosate only reconfirms the long tradition of denying freedom to Indian farmers.
15/07/2020
Anil Ghanwat
President, Shetkari Sanghatana
]]>Press Release 5, June 2, 2019 [PDF including Hindi version here]
By Bhartiya Kisan Union - Khetkari Sanghatan, Fatehabad / Hisar, Haryana:
A cotton farmer in Haryana, has decided to join the Kisan Satyagraha by symbolically sowing HTBt cotton on his field in village Sarangpur, tehsil Agroha, district Hisar, Haryana, on July 5, 2019, at 9 am.
Shri Bhupinder Singh Mann, former MP, National President, Bhartiya Kisan Union, will preside over the proceedings. All are invited.
The Kisan Satyagraha demands freedom for farmers' to access the latest technologies, including GM crops, to help improve farmers' income, and thereby contribute to national well-being.
The Kisan Satyagraha was initiated by Shri Lalit Bahale of Shetkari Sanghatana, in Akoli Jahagir village in Akot tehsil, Akola district, Maharashtra, on June 10, 2019. Inspired by the idea, Shri Chiranjeelal Bishnoi from Sarangpur village, in Hisar district, has decided to publicly support the call for access to new scientific advances.
The Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) in Haryana, and the Shetkari Sanghatana, Maharashtra, have expressed their strong support for Shri Chiranjeelal Bishnoi, and all the other farmers who have come forward to join the Satyagraha in the past few weeks.
Over the past three weeks, over three dozen farmers, spread over 15 districts of Maharashtra’s cotton belt, have publicly sown HTBt cotton. Although none of them can be sure that the seeds they have procured from the grey market are really the Herbicide Tolerant (HT) genetically engineered Bt cotton that they desire.
The Kisan Satyagraha, with its unique form of peaceful protest, where farmers are sowing at their own cost, on their own fields, acknowledging the attendant risks to their own livelihood, have sent a clear message across the country. The Indian farmers are no longer willing to wait for the government to approve technologies that have been proven and adopted for years, in many countries across the world.
Across the world around 60% of cotton is HTBt. In 2017, a field survey done by government of India had found that in major cotton growing states of Gujarat and Maharashtra 15% of cotton were HTBt, and in Punjab and Haryana it were around 9%.
On behalf of Kisan Satyagraha, the Shetkari Sanghatana has submitted a memorandum with six key demands to the central and state government.
Two months ago, Jeevan Saini, a small farmer, whose half acre of brinjal crop was destroyed by the local administration in Fatehabad district. Jeevan was accused of growing GM brinjal, although the farmer had no idea of what genetic modification meant. He had paid much higher price to purchase the brinjal saplings in the belief that these are a new hybrid that attracts less pests. Brinjal is particularly vulnerable to pest attacks.
Farmers and other friends of Shetkari Sanghatana and Bhartiya Kisan Union have generously contributed to aid Jeevan Saini and his family to partly compensate for their loss.
Bt Brinjal, which was developed by an Indian company, was approved by the regulatory body, GEAC, in 2009. But Government of India put an indefinite moratorium on it in 2010. However, the same Bt Brinjal had been approved in Bangladesh, in 2014, and so far over 50,000 farmers have successfully adopted it so far, and consumers have enjoyed better quality fruits.
Kisan Satyagraha is not against either organic or natural farming, zero-tillage or zero- budget agriculture, intensive agriculture or hydroponic farming. All these practioners of different methods of agriculture enjoy their freedom. Kisan Satyagraha demands that the farmers who want to adopt genetically modified crops should also enjoy the right to same freedom.
Indian farmers are no longer prepared to silently bear their losses, and Indian consumers are being denied the pleasure of enjoying healthier and better crops.
Contact:
• Bhartiya Kisan Union, Thakur Guniprakash, Haryana Pradesh Adhyaksh. Mob. 8901032721.
• Bhartiya Kisan Union, Baldev Singh Miyapur, Punjab Pradesh Adhyaksh. Mob.
• Shri Chiranjeelal Bishnoi, Sarangpur village, Hisar. Mob. 8708966060.
• Shetkari Sanghatana, Ajit Narde. Mob. 8668864685
For comments and communication:
Shetkari.Sanghatana.1979@gmail.com , kisan.Satyagraha.2019@gmail.com
NOTES BY SWARNA BHARAT PARTY
Details regarding the technology and its safety at http://swarnabharat.in/gm
Endorsement by some of the most eminent scientists and journalists: http://swarnabharat.in/gmsupport
Record of ongoing civil disbodeience at: https://www.sabhlokcity.com/2019/06/continuing-civil-disobedience-by-farmers/
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Akot tehsil, Akola distric]]>
Akot tehsil, Akola district, Maharashtra.
Press Release, June 25, 2019.
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Statement of Lalit Patil Bahale, spokesman for the Shetkari Sanghatana, on the FIR filed against him and others in Akot today, for the Kisan Satyagraha undertaken in Akoli Jahagir village on June 10, 2019.
"It is very sad to know that state administration is trying to give criminal colour to satyagrah , a sacred and polite expression of disagreement with govt., by registering offenses under IPC sections on the farmers desperate for propagation of science and technology in the field of agriculture, in the intrest of the nation, India that is Bharat, and to ensure the well being of farming families and rural communities," Lalit Patil Bahale.
1. Rather than being accused of 420, the farmers including Lalit Bahale and the farmers are possible victims of cheating or 420. No farmer has come forward to complain that Lalit Bahale and others, either sold seeds to farmers, or misled the farmer in to sowing HTBt cotton.
2. The Kisan Satyagraha is a symbolic gesture to demand farmers' freedom to reap the benefits of modern science and technologies, including GM crops. It is a scientific committee of GoI which had estimated that 15% of cotton in Maharashtra, and a few other states, was HTBt. This was long before the Kisan Satyagraha launched by Shetkari Sanghatana.
3. Farmers are fully aware that in the current regulatory environment, they can never be sure that the seeds they have procured are genuine HTBt cotton, or not.
4. Farmers in Akoli Jahagir had requested the officials to get the seeds tested to let them know if the seeds were genuine.
5. Given the uncertainty over the seeds, it is baseless to level charges of cheating or causing any harm to health or environment, without any supporting evidence.
6. The result of misguided regulations, impose price control on seeds (when seed cost constitutes barely 5% of the cost of farming GM cotton), and efforts to undermine IPR, have contributed to a total halt in trials of new generation GM crops. This has placed Indian farmers at a great disadvantage compared to their peers and competitors in other countries.
7. World over a dozen GM crops are being legally grown, including HTBt cotton without any evidence of adverse health impact or environmental degradation. And here farmers in Akola are being accused without any evidence of harm whatsoever. Globally, over 180 million hectares are reportedly under GM crops, and hundreds of millions of people across the world have been consming such produces for over two decades without experiencing any adverse impact.
8. The Shetkari Sanghatana had to take up the Kisan Satyagraha for two basic reasons. On the one hand, the regulatory environment had stalled all development of new generation of GM crops, denying farmers benefits of latest scientific progress. On the other hand, the growing demand from farmers for better alternatives meant that the farmers were increasingly vulnerable to spurious or fake seeds. It is this adding insult to injury, that forced the farmers to undertake the Satyagraha, on their own land and at their own risk to bring attention to the gross injustice being meted out to the farmers.
The Shetkari Sanghatana is standing with the farmers in support of their demand for freedom to choose the technology of their own choice, legally and freely.
For more information, please contact Shetkari Sanghatana.
• Shri Anil Ghanwat, Ahmednagar, 99237 07646
• Shri Ajit Narde, Kolhapur, 98224 53310
• Shri Lalit Patil Bahale, Akot taluka, Akola, 97654 70002
• Laxmikant kauthakar, Telhara taluka, Akola dist. 96236 03799
Press Release no. 3 (June 24, 2019)
Two weeks after the launch of Kisan Satyagraha in the presence of 1500 people, by Lalit Patil Bahale planting herbicide tolerant (HT) Bt cotton seed at his farm in Akoli Jahagir village, Akot tehsil, in Akola district of Maharashtra, on June 10, 2019, this grassroots movement has gathered steam. Farmers from ten districts in Maharashtra have joined the Satyagraha.
Two major programmes were held on June 24, 2019. One was at Adjoin Budruk village, Telhara taluka, Akola district. The other at Sita Mata Mandir in Raveri village, Ralegaon taluka, in Yavatmal district. Apart from sowing the new generation cotton seeds, and expressing their support for Bt brinjal and GM mustard, two new decisions were announced at today’s events.
A select few progressive farmers will set up demonstration Þeld trials to test the efficacy and economic viability of HTBt cotton. Secondly, farmers in Maharashtra and their friends, will contribute whatever they can in support of Jeevan Saini, the farmer in Fatehabad district in Haryana, whose brinjal crop was uprooted, buried and burned by the local administration in May 2019, on reports of it being unauthorised GM brinjal.
Everyday, over the past two weeks, ordinary farmers, and leaders of farmers’ organisation, Shetkari Sanghatana, from different parts of Maharashtra are coming forward to plant new generation HTBt cotton varieties in their Þelds. So far, farmers from ten districts, Ahmednagar, Akola, Amravati, Buldhana, Dhule, Jalna, Jalgaon, Parbhani, Wardha, Yavatmal, have joined hands to plead for access to new generation of GM technology in cotton, as well as brinjal, soya, maize, and others crops.
A similar programme was held at Shegaon (Kund), in Hinganghat taluka, Wardha district on June 20, 2019. A few days earlier, Madhusudan Harne and other organisers had submitted a letter to the newly elected MP, Shri Ramdas Tadas. The Hon. MP raised the issue of difficulty faced by farmers in view of the lack of clear laws and policies governing genetically modiÞed crops, during the Zero Hour in Lok Sabha on June 21, 2019.
Demonstration field trial by farmers
Laxmikant Kauthakar, head of Shetkari Sanghatana in Telhara taluka, of Adgaon Budruk village, in Akola district, explained his aim to set up a demonstration Þeld trial at Gordhanaba khet, by following some of the common guidelines and practices. Over the next couple of weeks, over a dozen progressive cotton farmers are expected to declare their intention to conduct similar demonstration trials to test the efficacy and economics of HTBt cotton.
Such farmers will select a contiguous parcel of land, ranging from 1/2 acre to 1 acre. Divide the parcel in to three equal plots, with a gap of 6 feet of clear ground between and around these plots. A different kind of seed will be planted in each of the three demarcated plots - in one traditional non-GM cotton seed, in another the conventional Bt-cotton (BG II), and the alleged HTBt cotton in the third one. The field trial parcel would be surrounded by suitable non-cotton crops, for about 50 to 100 feet, to provide a degree of insulation to the trial parcel. This is expected to be multi-location demonstration.
Each of the three plots will receive the same treatment. The seeds would be sowed at the same density in these three plots. Irrigation, fertiliser, pesticide, weeding, herbicide, etc., will be applied consistently as per the standard guidelines in all the three plots. The intensity of pest infestation, flowering, ball formation, etc. will be monitored and counted according to standard practices. Records will be maintained in a suitable format, which will be shared with experts for analysis, at the end of the cropping season.
The farmers undertaking the demonstration will invite others, farmers, scientists, agronomists, economists and other experts to visit these fields to observe the progress of the crop, and advise. Ajit Narde, head of science and technology cell at Shetkari Sangatana, said the organisation was committed to advising the farmers on best agricultural practices.
The farmers recognise the risk they are taking, since the unauthorised seeds they are sowing ,assuming it to be HTBt, may turn out to be spurious or fake. But this only underscores the vulnerability of the farmers in the current policy paralysis over agriculture biotechnology.
The farmers are the prime victims of the prevailing regulatory environment. The farmers are only pleading for the freedom to adopt the technology of their choice, be it GM, organic or zero budget, or any other practice.
***
For more information, please contact Shetkari Sanghatana.
In 2010 the Allahabad High Court divided the 2.77 acres of the Babri land in Ayodhya between the Nirmohi Akhara, the Sunni Wakf Board and the representative of Ram Lalla. This set a precedent for future extra-Constitutional seizures of private land: first bring in mobs to encroach and seize land, then go to court with a god-story that no human can verify and demand that the court hand over that land to you.
Note that there was nothing and there remains nothing to prevent the Muslim owners of the Babri Masjid land from gifting it to those who believe (without proof) that Ram was born on that exact spot, but there is no obligation upon them to do so. And they have full rights to appeal this proposal to coercively transfer of their land to those who broke down their mosque.
The Supreme Court has not addressed the fundamental legal question: can private land be forcibly seized by other private people in independent India? Instead, it has appointed a three-member panel in March 2019 for mediation, a method that implicitly supports the intent of the Allahabad High Court to give away people’s land to others.
While our party will accept any conclusive solution (if achieved in this case) in the interest of peace, I believe the Supreme Court has gone down the completely wrong path and that such mediation with forcible encroachers is inconsistent with the Constitution.
The Supreme Court seems to think there is a property dispute here, but there is none. This is a plain and simple case of encroachment of private property and demolition of that property through medieval mob violence in an attempt to get it for free. Only rowdy countries allow that, not Constitutional republics.
The only way this could have become a property dispute is if there was an unbroken chain of ownership of that land by Ram and his successors in authentic official land records. But even if there was such proof of ownership prior to the Masjid’s construction, it would not mean much now given the law of limitations which would limit even such claims.
The courts of India are a creature of the Indian Constitution and must recognise private property ownership as at 15 August 1947. We know for sure that at independence, the said property was owned and actively used by the Muslims of Ayodhya as a mosque. The land in question had also been duly registered in 1936 under the Waqf Act, which created an inalienable right on that land.
We note in this regard that the British did a very good job of governance (unlike the independent Indian governments) and vigorously prevented attempts to encroach upon this property. But the moment India became independent, the concept of laws and the rule of law was thrown into the wind. We now know that members of the district administration of Faizabad themselves became criminals by encroaching upon this land and placing a Ram idol (Ram Lalla) inside the mosque in 1949. Nehru immediately asked that the idol be removed but Indian administrators were full-fledged criminals by then and did not follow even their own PM’s directive which was based on the laws.
In 1992, the government actively participated in the criminal destruction of the mosque: the masjid was destroyed in the presence (or rather, under the protection) of the police. Today, things are so deplorable that the BJP has given a ticket in these Lok Sabha elections to one of the self-proclaimed breakers of the masjid.
The government’s “Raj Dharma” is to protect private property. That is what is known as Ram Rajya. That dharma was actively violated by all governments of independent India. I have first-hand reliable testimony from an IAS officer who worked closely with Narasimha Rao in 1992 about how Mr Rao was supportive of the demolition.
What bothers me personally is that the groups who claim to “represent Hindus” have used the same uncivilised and uncouth methods that they claim Muslim rulers used in the past. It is alleged that Muslim rulers used force. But the Hindu groups have used both subterfuge and force. Ram would have been aghast.
The bargaining (mediation) underway is all about twisting the arms of the Muslims. We know the rabid views of the Hindu “spiritual” guru who is part of the mediation team. Muslims are being taught that India is now a de facto Hindu Rashtra, where the government actively supports the encroachment and demolition of their property. And a rabid “guru” has now been deputed by the highest court of the land to lecture them. Muslims must know by now that India’s Constitution is not worth the paper it is written on. India is not a Ram Rajya but a rowdy republic where the law of the jungle prevails.
The liberals, on the other hand, insist on the rule of law and protection of private property. We believe that a principles-based approach can be applied even now to defend the rule of law and protect the self-respect of our fellow citizen Muslims.
First, the government must complete the acquisition of land and heavily compensate the Muslim owners of the mosque, well more than the market price of the land and property. The masjid should be valued as an ancient heritage monument, not just an ordinary building. That will enable the Muslims to build an alternative Masjid. Once compensation is provided, the land should be put out to auction to the highest bidder.
A civilised society works on the basis of money, not force. If someone values something more than another person, he should put his money where his mouth is.
If this land was so precious to Hindus the civilised thing would have been to collect vast amounts of money and offer it to the Muslims. Instead, these people are also cheap and want that land for free. That is the real issue.
Our party would not ordinarily support acquisition of private property for matters unrelated to the provision of infrastructure. But in this case, acquisition can be justified since the ancient building has already been destroyed and the government can make a significant profit that can then be put to public use, including for poor Muslims.
Before the auction, the land should be cleared entirely. Thereafter, an independent auctioneer should accept sealed bids from any citizen or group of citizens for this land in a well-structured and transparent process. If the auction is conducted properly, the government will achieve huge profits, enough to support the education and health for millions of poor people. But what if some bidders want to build hospitals or educational institutions on this land? That should not matter to the government. If Hindus care so much for this precise spot, let them put their money where their mouth is.
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On Facebook: Program details available to us through various sources:
On Facebook: poster in Marathi | poster in English Shetkari sanghatana has declared a civil disobedience agitation to remove the ban on GM crops. Thousands of farmers from Maharashtra and some representatives from other states are going to attend this programme. The demonstrators are going to defay the law which restricts farmers from carrying, storing, selling, sowing or conducting trials. Any body who commits this crime has to pay one lakh Rs. fine and has to serve 5 years imprisonment. Shetkri sanghatana activists and farmer are going commit this offence on 10th June by planting seeds of banned HTBT cotton variety and banned BT Brinjal seeds. Thousands of farmers will assemble at Akoli Jahagir village, Akot tahesil of Akola district Maharashtra. from 9.00 am . Tea and breakfast will be served. Speeches of leaders , technical people and question answer session will be held from 10 am to 2.00 pm. Actual Planting programme will take place from 2.00 pm to 2.30 pm. Lunch will be served after that and the programme will end by 4.30. All supporters of GM Technology and well wishers of farmers are invited to attend the programme and take part in the historic non cooperation / civil disobedience movement. === VIA BARUN MITRA=== Kisan Satyagraha: Lalit Patil Bahale, a farmers' leader in Akola district, has decided to publicly plant the unauthorised herbicide tolerant Roundup Ready Bt cotton, as well as Bt brinjal, on June 10, at Akot. The Shetkari Sanghatana would like to invite farmers and friends to join them in Akot (about 50 km, north of Akola), to participate in the proceedings, June 10, 2019, from 9 am to 4 pm. On this occasion, there would also be a discussion on the benefits of GM technology for famers in India. The programme schedule is below. As you may know, recently there has been a controversy in Haryana over alleged GM brinjal, although there is little clarity on whether it is indeed Bt brinjal. Bangladesh approved Bt Brinjal in 2013. But the GoI had overruled the recommendation of GEAC in 2009, and imposed a moratorium on Bt Brinjal in 2010, which still continues. The context of the current controversy over brinjal is available here. Over the past few years, herbicide tolerant Bt cotton has been planted in many cotton growing areas of India, particularly in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telengana and Andhra Pradesh. A GoI field survey in 2017, had found that 15% of cotton sampled from these states were the unauthorised HT Bt variety. You may recall, that a similar situation had prevailed in 1999-2001, when unauthorised Bt cotton was first found in Gujarat. Widespread acceptance of GM cotton by the farmers, and effectively led by the late Sharad Joshi of Shetkari Sanghatana, the farmers had almost forced the GoI to approve the first generation Bt cotton in 2002. A background to the Bt cotton debate is available here. This is perhaps the first Kisan Satyagraha seeking freedom from overbearing government regulations restricting access to modern technology to Indian farmers. The farmers are not demanding any privilege from the government, rather freedom from government control. Would be really nice if you could join us, despite the short notice. And please do help spread the word. Following is a letter from Lalit Patil Bahale (mob. 97654 70002) of Shetkari Sanghatana in Akola, and the proposed programme schedule. Thanks and regards, Barun Mitra New Delhi ======== Farmers' Manifesto for Freedom http://farmersmanifesto.info ======== किसान भाईयों और मेरी माताबहेनो, खेती-किसानी मे बिजोका अनन्यसाधारण महत्व है।खेतीके भरोसे गुजारा होना हो तो इसके तौर-तरीकोका जागतीकस्तर का होना जरूरी है।अत्याधुनिक तंत्रज्ञान के बिना हिंदुस्तान का किसान इस दौड मे टिक नही पायेगा।जैव-तांत्रीकीना केवल बिज को बेहतर गुणोसे संवारती है बल्के कुछ दोष होतो उसे हटानेका हुनर भी रखती है।इस तकनीक कोहमारेही कुछ भाईयोने हमतक आनेसे रोक रखा है.इन पर्यावरण दहशतगर्दोके खिलाफ कुछ आवाजे तो उठी है, हमेउसे और बुलंद करना है।इसलीये हम HTBtकपास और Bt बैंगन कि ऐलानीया बुआई कर रहे है। इस बुआई कार्यक्रममे आप शामील हुये तो बडा हौसला प्राप्त होगा। आपको आग्रहपूर्वक नौता देते है।जरुर आईये। धन्यवाद। ललित पटेल बाहाळे संपर्क करे : ९७६५४७०००२ ===== निमंत्रण तंत्रज्ञान आझादी सतसंग सहपरीवार आपकी उपस्थिती का आग्रह ललित पटेल बाहाळे शेतकरी संघटना दि.१० जुन २०१९ बडा खेत , आकोली जाहागीर, तह.: आकोट , जिला.: आकोला .महाराष्ट्र. कार्यक्रम दि.१०जुन२०१९ सुबह ९:००से९:३० : चाय-नाश्ता सु.९:३०से १०:०० : उद्घाटन एवं मेहमानोका परीचय एवं स्वागत सु.१० से दोपहर १:३०: विषय विषेश प्रबोधन एवं चर्चा १. जैवतंत्रज्ञान का खेती-किसानी मे महत्त्व. २. जैविक(सेंद्रीय तथा तत्सम)खेती एवं जैवतांत्रीकी. ३. क्रषीउत्पादकी किमते एवं जैवतंत्रज्ञानके अर्थशास्त्रीय परीणाम. ४. तंत्रज्ञान-जैवतंत्रज्ञान : पाणी, उत्पादकता ,और विषेश गुणात्मक उत्पादन. ५. जैवतंत्रज्ञान एवं पर्यावरण. ६. जैवतंत्रज्ञान और रोजगार. दो. १:३० से दो. २:०० : H.T. Bt. कपासकी बुआई और Bt.बैंगन की पनेरी विकास कार्यक्रम. दो. २:०० बजे. : सहभोज. दो. ४:०० बजे. : राष्ट्रगान. कार्यक्रम का समापन.
=== ANIL GHANWAT===
Farmers demand access to GM technology, Akot, MH, 10 June 2019.
=====
==
1500 Farmers Sow HTBt Cotton and Bt Brinjal, Assert Their Right To GM Seeds
(Akoli Jahagir, Akot, June 10, 2019) - Farmers have sown the seeds for a new revolution in India.
Tired of government’s apathy and indecisiveness in approving the next generation of genetically modified (GM) cotton, a farmer, Lalit Patil Bahale, sowed the first seeds of the herbicide tolerant (HT) Bt cotton and Bt brinjal, in his own field in Akot. Fifteen hundred farmers joined hands to sow the seeds in a two-acre plot.
Shetkari Sanghatana, a farmers organisation fighting for open market and latest technologies, has promised to support farmers’ rights to sow the seeds of their choice. For the rest of this sowing season, farmers across the country will declare their support to agricultural biotechnology by sowing HTBt cotton and Bt brinjal.
Recently, the Haryana government accused two farmers of illegally growing genetically modified brinjal and destroyed their crops. The farmers who gathered in Akot demanded that the government compensate the affected farmers for the destroyed assets and the income lost. In solidarity, the participants are raising money to aid all those who may be similarly affected.
Lalit Patil Bahale said, “Farmers have been surreptitiously planting HTBt cotton for the past few years. By this act of Satyagraha, we are now proudly coming forward to motivate more and more farmers to reject unreasonable restrictions on agriculture. We have to purify “chor Bt”, which is the common parlance for HTBt, and transform it to “Hak ka Bt”. (Chor Bt naahi, Hakkache Bt).
Ajit Narde, a sugarcane farmer and the Head of Science and Technology Cell of the Shetkari Sanghatana said, “The high regulatory cost of developing new GM crop means that only very large companies can afford to invest in it. This greatly retards the development of agro-biotech. GM is important not just for farmers but for the economic prosperity of India. With GM in oil seeds, we can greatly reduce our import, enhance diversification of crops, and significantly increase farmers’ income.”
Anil Ghanwat, the President of Shetkari Sanghatana, said, “A dozen GM crops like maize, soya, cotton have been planted across the world, and millions of people and livestock have been eating these for the past two decades. There is no evidence of any adverse health impact on either humans or animals. Contrary to claims that GM is polluting the environment, it’s, in reality, reducing the use of pesticides that harm many beneficial insects. GM is actually enhancing biodiversity, and by lowering crop losses it is reducing the need of bringing more land under agriculture.”
The farmers in attendance said that they frequently experiment with new varieties of seeds.
Gajanan Deshmukh, a farmer from the Jintur tehsil of Parbhani district, comes from a family of that has been planting cotton for the past 50 years. But Bt cotton’s declining efficacy against pests compelled him to stop planting cotton in 2014-15. When he heard about the HTBt seeds, he decided to conduct an experiment: “Last year, I planted three acres of HTBt and two acres of the old Bt. To test HTBt, I didn’t use any pesticides but did spray herbicide twice. While I got an average seven quintal output from BT, the produce from HTBT was 12 quintals,” he says. This experience has encouraged Deshmukh to try and procure reliable seeds and plant five acres of HTBt this year.
Anil Chavan, a small farmer from the Shrigonda tehsil in Ahmednagar district has been growing cotton since the mid-80s. In 2016, he shifted to HTBt. “I managed to save around Rs 8,000 per acre on labour cost and this year, I could sell my cotton at 25% above MSP”.
A farmer leader from Fatehabad district in Haryana, said, “In an acre, the actual production is 300 quintals. But at best, only 150-200 quintals could be marketed because the rest is infested by pests. Now with HTBT, the farmer is able to market almost the entire 300-quintal produce. The brinjals are healthier, brighter and secure a better price in the market.”
Seeing better yield and better future with HTBt cotton, auto driver Govind Ramdas Shahane of Yavatmal district has now returned to cultivating cotton. His three-acre land with the earlier variety of cotton yielded 7.5 quintals last year while 6 acre with HTBt has yielded 50 quintals.
After the green revolution, cotton has been India’s biggest success story yet today’s farmers are being denied access to improved cotton seeds. They are forced to buy HTBt seeds informally and weather risk of crop failure due to the possibility of fake seeds. The government is responsible for the farmers’ current vulnerabilities and it must now approve the emerging technology in the interest of the farmers.
The government talks of doubling farmers’ income, and withdrawing unreasonable restrictions on GM seeds is a golden opportunity for farmers to enjoy higher income.
*
For further questions, please contact:
Anil Ghanwat, 99237 07646
Ajit Narde, 98224 53310
Lalit Patil Bahale, 97654 7002
==
1500 Farmers Sow HTBt Cotton and Bt Brinjal, Assert Their Right To GM Seeds
(Akoli Jahagir, Akot, June 10, 2019) - Farmers have sown the seeds for a new revolution in India.
Tired of government’s apathy and indecisiveness in approving the next generation of genetically modified (GM) cotton, a farmer, Lalit Patil Bahale, sowed the first seeds of the herbicide tolerant (HT) Bt cotton and Bt brinjal, in his own field in Akot. Fifteen hundred farmers joined hands to sow the seeds in a two-acre plot.
Shetkari Sanghatana, a farmers organisation fighting for open market and latest technologies, has promised to support farmers’ rights to sow the seeds of their choice. For the rest of this sowing season, farmers across the country will declare their support to agricultural biotechnology by sowing HTBt cotton and Bt brinjal.
Recently, the Haryana government accused two farmers of illegally growing genetically modified brinjal and destroyed their crops. The farmers who gathered in Akot demanded that the government compensate the affected farmers for the destroyed assets and the income lost. In solidarity, the participants are raising money to aid all those who may be similarly affected.
Lalit Patil Bahale said, “Farmers have been surreptitiously planting HTBt cotton for the past few years. By this act of Satyagraha, we are now proudly coming forward to motivate more and more farmers to reject unreasonable restrictions on agriculture. We have to purify “chor Bt”, which is the common parlance for HTBt, and transform it to “Hak ka Bt”. (Chor Bt naahi, Hakkache Bt).
Ajit Narde, a sugarcane farmer and the Head of Science and Technology Cell of the Shetkari Sanghatana said, “The high regulatory cost of developing new GM crop means that only very large companies can afford to invest in it. This greatly retards the development of agro-biotech. GM is important not just for farmers but for the economic prosperity of India. With GM in oil seeds, we can greatly reduce our import, enhance diversification of crops, and significantly increase farmers’ income.”
Anil Ghanwat, the President of Shetkari Sanghatana, said, “A dozen GM crops like maize, soya, cotton have been planted across the world, and millions of people and livestock have been eating these for the past two decades. There is no evidence of any adverse health impact on either humans or animals. Contrary to claims that GM is polluting the environment, it’s, in reality, reducing the use of pesticides that harm many beneficial insects. GM is actually enhancing biodiversity, and by lowering crop losses it is reducing the need of bringing more land under agriculture.”
The farmers in attendance said that they frequently experiment with new varieties of seeds.
Gajanan Deshmukh, a farmer from the Jintur tehsil of Parbhani district, comes from a family of that has been planting cotton for the past 50 years. But Bt cotton’s declining efficacy against pests compelled him to stop planting cotton in 2014-15. When he heard about the HTBt seeds, he decided to conduct an experiment: “Last year, I planted three acres of HTBt and two acres of the old Bt. To test HTBt, I didn’t use any pesticides but did spray herbicide twice. While I got an average seven quintal output from BT, the produce from HTBT was 12 quintals,” he says. This experience has encouraged Deshmukh to try and procure reliable seeds and plant five acres of HTBt this year.
Anil Chavan, a small farmer from the Shrigonda tehsil in Ahmednagar district has been growing cotton since the mid-80s. In 2016, he shifted to HTBt. “I managed to save around Rs 8,000 per acre on labour cost and this year, I could sell my cotton at 25% above MSP”.
A farmer leader from Fatehabad district in Haryana, said, “In an acre, the actual production is 300 quintals. But at best, only 150-200 quintals could be marketed because the rest is infested by pests. Now with HTBT, the farmer is able to market almost the entire 300-quintal produce. The brinjals are healthier, brighter and secure a better price in the market.”
Seeing better yield and better future with HTBt cotton, auto driver Govind Ramdas Shahane of Yavatmal district has now returned to cultivating cotton. His three-acre land with the earlier variety of cotton yielded 7.5 quintals last year while 6 acre with HTBt has yielded 50 quintals.
After the green revolution, cotton has been India’s biggest success story yet today’s farmers are being denied access to improved cotton seeds. They are forced to buy HTBt seeds informally and weather risk of crop failure due to the possibility of fake seeds. The government is responsible for the farmers’ current vulnerabilities and it must now approve the emerging technology in the interest of the farmers.
The government talks of doubling farmers’ income, and withdrawing unreasonable restrictions on GM seeds is a golden opportunity for farmers to enjoy higher income.
*
For further questions, please contact:
Anil Ghanwat, 99237 07646
Ajit Narde, 98224 53310
Lalit Patil Bahale, 97654 7002
On 24 April 2019, the day of scrutiny, Rabi asked for written reasons for the rejection from the RO Bhadohi but was not provided any such written documentation. The RO also refused to entertain a revised affidavit that had corrected a very minor error in the original one. The RO also refused to give time to the party to clarify issues.
This is in direct contravention of the Candidate Handbook issued by the Election Commission. The behaviour of the RO is violative of the basic principles of democracy.
On 25 April 2019, when this was reported to the party head office, the party asked Rabi to lodge a written request in this regard with the RO. He met the DM and the DM agreed to get the letter receipted through his steno, but the steno refused to do so, and Rabi was driven out without a receipt. The guards refused to let him see the DM again. The photo of the written letter from Rabi can be downloaded here.
On that day, 25 April, the RO and Central Observer were out of the city the whole day and it was not possible to meet any of them.
On 25 April the party raised this matter via email with the Chief Electoral Officer of UP and also with the Election Commissioners Mr Ashok Lavasa and Mr Sushil Chandra. Mr Lavasa was contacted on phone and said that the decision of the RO is final in matters of accepting nomination and that the Election Commission cannot issue any directions to him. He said, however, that the Central Observer in Bhadohi can potentially ask the RO about whether he has followed all the required procedures and that's something we should do. Rabi tried his best to locate the Central Observer but was unsuccessful. It is understood that the Central Observer was not present in town (and his phone number was not provided to our candidate despite our repeated requests) on 25 April.
The action of the RO in this case has been ultra vires of his powers and in violation of election law and the procedures laid out in the Candidates Handbook. The RO also refuses to receive letters from the candidate and guards don't allow him to meet the DM. Our candidate has being treated as if he is an enemy of India!
SBP agrees that there was a very minor and non-substantive error in the original nomination paper and that due to lack of experience, the candidate Rabi failed to make the necessary correction before the commencement of the scrutiny process. However, the intent of the law is very clear and the moment Rabi realised the matter he sought to make amends - well within the time allotted for such matters - but was repeatedly denied the opportunity to do so. That is the real issue here - that on an entirely non-substantive matter, and without giving him the due opportunity to make amends, Rabi's nomination paper was rejected.
यह लोकतंत्र की हत्या है. लोकतंत्र में जब स्वच्छ और नए लोगों को चुनाव में हिस्सा लेने से ही रोक दिया जायेगा तो लानत है ऐसी व्यवस्था पर और ऐसे चुनाव प्रशासन पर.
But on 26 April it was discovered that the RO in Bhadohi is actually baised and has not only rejected the nomination paper of our party's candidate without written reasons but has accepted the nomination paper of the BJP candidate despite that candidate swearing in his affidavit that he belongs to the Bahujan Samaj Party.
Detailed youtube news report on this matter:
(Further news report on this issue.)
The RO has accepted the MOST GROSS ERROR in the nomination paper of BJP but rejected our party’s nomination despite our party’s error being the most minor possible matter?
It is a total travesty of the laws and a mockery of democracy for the Election Commission to appoint such ROs who can't do their basic job properly or are severely biased.
If it were not for the fact that the socialist system of India has caused the total collapse of competence in the administration, this event would be seen as a conspiracy against the Swarna Bharat Party by the BJP.
SBP calls for removal of the heavily biased or grossly incompetent Returning Officer of Bhadohi and for restarting the electoral process .
[NOTE: This new report will be updated as and when more information becomes available]
Handbook for Candidate - sections regarding scrutiny. Full Handbook is available here.
Letter that the DM's steno refused to receive despite DM's directive.
Complaint to Chief Electoral Officer UP at 3:56 pm on 25 April 2019.
Complaint to Chief Electoral Officer UP at 4:12 pm on 25 April 2019
Complaint to Election Commission (pgroceoup@gmail.com) at 4:16 pm on 25 April 2019.
Complaint to Sushil Chandra, Electdion Commissioner at 5:05 pm on 25 April 2019
Second complaint to Election Commissioners and Chief Electoral Officer of UP, at 2:14 am on 27 April 2019
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India has welcomed migrants for thousands of years regardless of any religion they may profess. We welcome the presumably humane intent of the BJP government for India to absorb those who are being persecuted in our neighbouring countries.
But Mr Modi is not doing this the right way. The way the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016, currently awaiting approval in the Rajya Sabha, has been drafted, it amounts to an attack on everything that India has stood for, for thousands of years. The Bill makes eligible for Indian citizenship illegal migrants from neighbouring countries who have lived here for more than six years, but only those from the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian religions.
This approach is abhorrent in the extreme and violates the very notion of Bharat. Never in our thousands of years old history have we discriminated amongst migrants based on their religion. The Bill as drafted is also unconstitutional since it does not treat potential citizens equally under the law, i.e. without regard to their belief. And the Bill violates the liberal principle of separation of religion and state. It is possible to restrict citizenship where a refugee has a criminal background, but nothing else must come in the way.
It is obvious that the real reason for this badly drafted Bill is RSS’s and B JP’s poisonous two-nation theory which our freedom fighters firmly rejected. In Mr Modi’s regime the Muslims and other religious minorities of India and the atheists and agnostics are being treated as second class citizens. The Bill is an attempt to create a de facto Hindu rashtra by stealth.
I hope the Rajya Sabha will reject the Bill but even if it is passed, I am confident that the Bill will be struck down by the Supreme Court.
Instead of taking such a bigoted and hateful approach to citizenship, we need a well-considered approach in which genuine refugees are prioritised in accordance with international law. We believe that entirely different approaches should apply to refugees and economic migrants. We need to call for a White Paper on Citizenship to consider all aspects of citizenship in the light of international law.
We believe that refugees should be dealt with in accordance with the UNHCR Refugee Convention which defines a refugee. India is one of the very few democracies in the world not to have signed the Convention. But if we want to be a world leader, then we must stand for universal freedom and humanity. We must commit to sheltering our fellow humans who are forced to flee oppressive regimes. Even as we do that, we must retain the absolute power to expel any economic migrant who crosses into our border without prior approval. All economic migrants must be processed through India’s embassies outside India. No exception.
The advantage of signing the Refugee Convention is that migrants who are accepted as genuine refugees by the UNHCR’s settlement process will become eligible for being settled in developed nations across the world. The costs and burden is then shared globally. In any event, we must immediately stop labelling genuine refugees as “illegal migrants”.
The Assam Accord can now be readily reconciled in the context of the Refugee Convention. A vast number of refugees flooded into Assam from erstwhile East Pakistan as the consequence of a variety of internal disturbances and the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak wars. Based on the principles embedded in the Refugee Convention, we can agree that these were genuine refugees – as distinct from those who came in after 25 March 1971, who are economic migrants. The Assam Accord rightly regularised the pre-1971 refugees as citizens but through clause 5.8 confirmed clearly that those who came into India after 25 March 1971, namely, the economic migrants, would be expelled.
How many of these post-1971 migrants are in India today? I had conducted detailed modelling on this question and provided my advice to the then Chief Minister Prafulla Mahanta in 1989 as part of my role as Assam’s second-in-command in the Election Department. During the modelling I had discussed and explained the logic and statistics to AASU’s nominated leaders and to their advisor Indrajit Barua as well as other demographic experts. I believe that my report and calculations should be publicly released by the Assam Government for open discussion. I broadly recall that in my report I had found that while the number of illegal migrants in Assam in 1989 was still quite significant, it was far less than many other estimates.
The next question is: is it possible to identify these illegal migrants? While I was Deputy Commissioner of Barpeta district in the late 1980s, the AASU had sent a delegation to me and provided me with a list of potential illegal migrants in the char areas of Barpeta. I agreed to personally investigate the matter and went door to door to study the records of the alleged migrants. I found that everyone had links to a pre-1971 documents and this information was also provided to the highest levels of government. Possessing a pre-1971 document is not proof of genuineness since these documents are largely on flimsy rice paper, with some signature and seal that is often hard decipher. It is theoretically possible that some of these documents could be fake. But to investigate each case would impose a cost that the government simply cannot afford.
There is also a huge issue that many genuine citizens did not have proper pre-1971 records and many who had them could have easily lost them in floods. Therefore it remains extremely challenging to identify illegal immigrants, while also not excluding genuine citizens.
The great problem with the 2016 Citizenship Bill is that it can potentially enable many of the illegal economic migrants to get citizenship. They would of course have to formally apply, thereby effectively declaring that any of their previous documents were false. But the legal position regarding these migrants must be made very clear.
We will be able to support the Bill only under two conditions: first, the mention of religion must be eliminated and substituted by a commitment to shelter persecuted refugees. Second, an explicit clause must state that anyone who entered Assam from Bangladesh post-25 March 1971 will be expelled from India and shall not be eligible for citizenship. All post-1971 economic migrants must be expelled and must apply through formal channels from outside India. If any of them turns out to be a genuine refugee, being persecuted in Bangladesh, then they should be treated as refugees under an amended Citizenship Act.
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