Punjab, Haryana farmers will be ruined if mandis are shut: Yogendra Yadav

Social activist Yogendra Yadav on Tuesday said if 'mandis' are closed due to the Centre's new agri laws the farmers of Punjab and Haryana will be ruined as the government would no longer procure their crops.

Addressing a 'Kisan Mahapanchayat' organised by United Kisan Morcha in Rajasthan's Sikar district in support of the ongoing farmers' agitation against the agri laws, Yadav exuded confidence that these legislations will be repealed.

Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait and former MLA Amra Ram also attended the 'mahapanchayat'.

Yadav said the government will not procure farmers' crops if 'mandis' are closed due to the three agri laws enacted by the Centre. If that happens, the farmers of Punjab and Haryana will be devastated.

He said 450 farmer organisations have come together against the farm laws.

"Despite all efforts of Modi, his courtiers and leaders in the last three months, not one of these 450 organisations has broken away," he said.

Yadav expressed confidence that the agri laws will be repealed and farmers will be able to get a legal guarantee from the government on minimum support price (MSP) -- two of the main demands of farmer unions who have been protesting these legislations for nearly three months now.

Tikait also addressed a 'mahapanchayat' in Churu district's Sardarshahar.

He said the agitation against the farm laws will continue until the government repeals them and enacts a legislation guaranteeing MSP.

Congress legislator Krishna Poonia attended the event.

Thousands of farmers are camping at Delhi's border points of Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur to press their demands.

Farmers say the new farm laws will remove the safety net of MSP and leave them at the mercy of big corporates.

However, the government, which has held 11 rounds of talks with the protesting farmer unions, has said these laws will benefit farmers by freeing them from the clutches of the middlemen and ushering in new technology in the sector.