Farmers' protests show massive lack of trust in govt: Nobel Laureate Abhijit Banerjee

Banerjee said the agitation is illustrative of what happens when those with little connection to their people make large scale legislations

Talking on federalism and the lack of trust in the government Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee on Thursday said the ongoing farmers' protest was largely an outcome of suspicion in the government's motives.

Farmers from different states have been camping at Delhi's Singhu, Tikri, Ghazipur and Chilla (Delhi-Noida) border points for nearly two weeks now to demand a repeal of the farm laws enacted in September.

"Essentially the farmers are acting out of pure suspicion of the government's motives. What they are saying is not that these reforms could not be good, they are saying 'we think that this is the thin end of the wedge and something else, much worse is about to happen'," Banerjee said, speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit.

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Reiterating that there is a general loss of trust, between the government and its people, Banerjee said the agitation is illustrative of what happens when those very far away from its people, with little connection to them, make large-scale legislations.

On Thursday, farmer unions threatened to block railway tracks across the country and all highways leading to Delhi if their demands are not met.

The announcement came a day after farmers' leaders rejected the government's offer to amend the new agri laws and give a "written assurance" on continuing the Minimum Support Price (MSP) system.

“It is not so much that you could not make a case for getting rid of many of these very old-fashioned institutions we have in the agriculture sector, we absolutely could, but the lack of trust is massive," he added.

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Flagging the finer issue in the 'centre vs states' problem, which inadvertently feeds large-scale agitations, Banerjee made a case for more federalism within states. The Nobel laureate flagged how the size of India's states is disproportionate to the number of MPs allocated: "Indian states are way too big, too clunky and too unable to focus on specific areas. We need much more federalism within the state... The Indian constituencies are so big that if I were an MP I can’t really be useful to most people in my constituency. At all levels, we have not adjusted to the scale."

The states are partly acting out of their own political interest but the broader paradigm of lack of trust is key to the issue, and federalism is only one pieze of the puzzle, Banerjee explained.

Farmers worry the newly passed farm laws will eliminate the safety net of MSP and do away with mandis that ensure earning. But the government says the MSP system will continue and the new laws will give farmers more options to sell their crop.

(With inputs from agencies)