As Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee calls for united protests against two Farm Bills and political parties opposed to the Centre and a group of 10 central trade unions plan to launch a movement on 25 September in some states, BJP leaders and supporters have started circulating a handout released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a caption “Farmers, Beware of Lies” through social media.

State CPI-M secretary Surya Kanta Mishra has appealed to people via social media to protest against the Bills and the trade unions will protest against the same on Friday. Similarly, CPI-ML Liberation and All India Kishan Sangharsh Coordination Committee will also protest the same on 25 September.

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From Parliament to Kolkata, Trinamul Congress MPs and MLAs have started protesting the issue, even as West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar has raised questions against the state as to why it has deprived farmers of the Prime Minister’s Kishan Sanman Nidhi. In reply, the state also showcased a letter today, which was written to the union agriculture minister about the state government’s plans in implementing the scheme.

As Left leaders claimed that the Bill is made for corporate houses and capitalists and that it will take away the right to food, following the Center’s decision to withdraw potato and onion from the list of essential commodities, BJP activists have been circulating that handout and are talking about out what is a lie and what is the truth. They are also quoting Mr Modi, who has said: “Farm Bill paves the way for prosperity.”

At a time when the opposition parties are saying that the Farm Bill is a conspiracy to deny Minimum Support Price (MSP) to farmers, the handout says: “Farm Bill has nothing to do with MSP. MSP is being given and will continue in the future too.”

Countering what they call “two lies” that “mandis” will end and Farm Bill is antifarmers, the handout claims: “The mandi system will continue as it is. Farm Bill gives freedom to farmers as farmers can sell their crop to anyone, anywhere, while it establishes the ‘One Nation One Market’ theory. Farmers will now be able to earn more profit by dealing with large food processing companies instead of being dependent on others.”

Countering another “lie” that large companies will exploit farmers in the name of contract, the handout further claims, “The agreement will enable farmers to get prefixed prices, but farmers cannot be bound against their interests by this agreement. A farmer will be free to withdraw from the agreement at any stage, without incurring any penalty.”

On claims that farmers’ land will be given to capitalists, the handout quotes the PMO and says: “The Bill clearly directs that the sale, lease and mortgage of farmers’ land are completely prohibited. The agreement will be of crops, not land.”

On the opposition claim that the new scheme of things would mean benefits for big corporate houses and loss for farmers, the handout says that in many states farmers, in collaboration with large corporates, are successfully cultivating crops such as sugarcane, cotton, tea and coffee. “Now, small farmers will also get higher benefits and they will also get the benefits of technology and equipment with assured profits,” it adds.