BJP govt only understands language of street protests, says Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on farmers' agitation

Kolkata: Ahead of the farmers scheduled meeting with the Union ministers on new farm laws, senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Saturday said the BJP-led government at the centre only understands language of street protests. He said the party had sought more consultation and scrutiny of the legislations through Parliament Standing Committee, but the plea was turned down and instead Congress MPs were suspended from Parliament when they opposed it. “When Congress opposed the anti-farmers Bills, the ruling party accused us of undermining the interest of farmers, and even suspended our members in Parliament when division was sought before clearance of the legislations,” Chowdhury, leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha, said in a series of tweets. “Now the same government has been forced to bow down and concede to demands of the farmers in a very reluctant manner,” he said. The Congress leader said the present central government only understands the language of agitation. “Now the same government has been eager for more discussion with the agitators…government only understands the language of agitation on the streets,” he said. Farmers are scheduled to meet Union ministers for the fifth-round of talks on the new farm laws Saturday after the government conveyed its proposals or concessions which it can offer to them, sources said. Ahead of the crucial meeting with the protesting farmer organisations, Union ministers, including Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to deliberate over proposals likely to be made to the agitating groups, they said. Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal were also present in the meeting with the prime minister. The fourth-round of talks between the government and the agitating farmer unions Thursday had failed to end the standoff over the new farm laws.