Why are the Farmers angry at Ambani and Adani?

The Backstory While firms belonging to billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani do not procure foodgrains from farmers, the narrative that new farm laws are to benefit them has made them easy targets, with protesting farmers in different places in Punjab having vandalised and damaged Reliance Jio towers, snapping connectivity.

According to a Financial Express report, farmers have also called out for the boycotting of products from Reliance Industries and Adani Group, both of which are seen as beneficiaries of the new law, which opens up the agricultural commerce ecosystem, and allows corporations to directly liaise with farmers for produce, eliminating middlemen.

What is happening? Incidents of snapping of power lines to attempts to axe the towers have been reported from different parts of Punjab while site managers are slapped and abused for trying to prevent protestors from damaging sites.

The attacks have impacted telecom services and operators are struggling to maintain services in absence of action by law enforcement agencies.

Statement From CM of Punjab The Punjab chief minister had on Christmas appealed to protesting farmers to not cause inconvenience to the general public with such actions and continue to exercise the same restraint as they had shown over the past several months of their agitation. "Pointing out that telecom connectivity had become even more critical for people amid the Covid pandemic, the chief minister urged the farmers to show the same discipline and sense of responsibility which they had been exercising during their protest at the Delhi border, which has completed one month, and also earlier during their agitation in the state," a statement issued by the chief minister's office had said.

Why is the protest getting converted to an Anti-Capitalism campaign? The concentration of political as well as economic power in India has drawn international attention. India is seen following the Russian example of crony capitalists cornering national wealth and controlling political power, leading to an oligarchy. The Financial Times last month called Gautam Adani as ‘Modi’s Rockefeller’ and referred to his meteoric rise during the Modi regime.

The Adani Group is also India’s largest private ports operator and thermal coal power producer. The diversified group which commands a growing share of India’s power transmission and gas distribution markets is rapidly increasing its footprints and is believed to have registered a large number of companies in 2019 for its foray into agriculture produce. Indeed, Gautam Adani had started by trading in commodities.

He certainly appears, in hindsight, to have had inside and advance knowledge of the farm ordinances and laws pushed through by the Government. The boycott call by farmers of Reliance and Adani products and services is the first serious threat the two richest Indians appear to be facing.

At the protests.. Back home in Punjab, special camps are being organised in villages with shopkeepers making special offers and running discounts to encourage people to switch from Jio sims to Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, and other mobile companies.

The anger against corporate giants Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance and Gautam Adani’s Adani Group has been building up since the day the protests against the Central agriculture laws.

Amanbir Singh, a driver from Sultanwind in Amritsar at Singhu border, says in protest against the three farm laws, he too has decided to port his Jio Sim.

“Jo sadi zameen te Nazar rakhi baitha, oh sada ki lageya? (One who has his eyes on our lands, what relation do I share with him?) We will fight this government tooth and nail,” he adds, his anger visible. The Reply from RIL It is pertinent to mention here that last week Reliance Jio had reportedly complained to telecom regular Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) against rivals Airtel and Vodafone Idea alleging that the duo was spreading rumors that Reliance will gain from the three farm laws enacted by the Narendra Modi government.

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) said on January 4 it has no plans to enter contract or corporate farming and it is committed to empowering farmers. It never bought agricultural land for corporate or contract farming and had no plans to do so either, the conglomerate said in a statement.

RIL said that its subsidiary Reliance Retail does not purchase food grains directly from farmers. "We shall insist on our suppliers to strictly abide by the Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanism, and/or any other mechanism for remunerative price for farm produce, as may be determined and implemented by the government," Reliance said in the statement.

The company said it had "never entered into long-term procurement contracts to gain an unfair advantage over farmers or sought that its suppliers buy from farmers at less than remunerative prices, nor will it ever do so." The Bottom Line While there is a right to protest present in the Indian Constitution, it is important to penalise protestors when the protests hamper public life. The same can be seen in the case of protesting Farmers in Punjab. While we see that they have the right to protest, they certainly do not have the right to damage property and hence are guilty. However, there seems to be no reason for them to stop their peaceful protests on the Delhi border for the sole reason that some protestors took law into their own hands. In the end, what some of the protestors did was wrong but should it or should it not lead to them forcefully being evicted from their protesting site, is a question that remains unanswered.