Farmers are the backbone of our society: Mamata Banerjee says on Lal Bahadur Shastri’s birth anniversary

Against the backdrop of agitation over the controversial farm acts by farmers and several Opposition political parties across the country, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday took to Twitter to say that she would raise her voice for farmers, who form the backbone of the society.

Banerjee on Friday wrote on Twitter: Remembering former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on his birth anniversary. 55 years ago, he gave us the inspirational slogan of ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’ for our proud farmer brothers & sisters. Come what may, we will always firmly stand by them till our last breath. Farmers are the backbone of our society. In Bengal, the average annual income of our farmers has tripled from ₹91,000 in 2011 to ₹2.91 lakh in 2018. History stands testament to what we have done for their benefits. We will continue to raise our voices for them.”

Eight MPs of the Opposition including Trinamool Congress’ Derek O’Brien, Dola Sen, Congress’ Rajeev Satav, CPM’s KK Ragesh and Aam Admi Party’s Sanjay Singh were suspended from the Rajya Sabha last Monday for “unruly” behaviour in the House the day before, when the controversial bills were being passed. There has been large-scale protests since from farmers organisations and several Opposition political parties against the said acts.