Gujarat Cong chief among 100 detained for protesting farm bills

Nearly 100 Gujarat Congress workers, including state party president Amit Chavda, were detained in Gandhinagar on Monday after they staged a protest against farm bills passed in Parliament, police said. In the morning, Chavda, Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani, Congress MLAs Baldevji Thakor, C J Chavda and other party workers gathered at the Ambedkar statue near the Assembly complex and raised slogans against the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Gujarat.

They claimed the farm bills recently passed by Parliament were "anti-farmer and will destroy APMCs". Later, the police detained the state Congress chief, Dhanani, MLAs Thakor and C J Chavda, and other party workers. Around 100 protesters were detained as soon as they started walking towards the Raj Bhavan, Deputy Superintendent of Police M K Rana said.

"Since the Congress workers had not taken any permission for the rally, we detained them. We will take a decision about their release afterwards," Superintendent of Police Mayur Chavda said.

Earlier, talking to reporters before his detention, Amit Chavda said, "Not just Congress workers, farmers too are demonstrating across the country against these farm bills, which will destroy APMCs and give wide powers to corporates in deciding the prices."

"The government will now wash it hands from giving MSP (minimum support price) under provisions of these bills," he alleged.

Dhanani alleged that the central government wants to hand over the agriculture sector to some selected companies.

"Where would the small farmers would go to sell their produce in the absence of APMCs? The BJP government is anti-farmer and these bills will turn farmers into farm labourers," he said.

President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday gave assent to three contentious farm bills that have triggered protests by farmers, especially in Punjab and Haryana. 

(Image Credits: Twitter/@INCGujarat)