BJP's 'Fact vs Fiction' Social Media Push In Defence Of Farm Laws

The BJP today launched a social media campaign to back the three new farm laws introduced by the Central government in September, attempting to bust what it refers to as myths being spread by political opponents of the Narendra Modi regime.

Thousands of farmers, backed by several political parties, have been protesting for over two weeks against the new farm ordinances. Today, the protesters had called for a Bharat Bandh, too.

Releasing a series of Hindi-language social media memes on the farm laws today, the saffron party projected the positive aspects of the agricultural ordinances. This includes reiterating all the benefits accruing to farmers and also the good aspects that the laws have left untouched from the old system, including the government-backed markets and the continuation of minimum support price (MSP) guaranteed for various products.

For instance, one meme released by the party today starts off by saying, "They (erstwhile governments) kept leading the farmers astray and lapping up all the cream themselves, while Modi Sarkar is working on the farmers' well-being."

It goes on to distinguish between a "rumour" and the "truth": The rumour is that "industrialists will capture farmers' land"; the fact being "it (capture) is impossible since the new law gives full protection to farmers".

Finally, it asks, "Then why is there an agitation under the garb of opposition to the farm reforms law?"

Another meme, with the same opening lines, distinguishes between the rumour of "MSP being done away with under the new law" and the fact of "the new law does not refer to MSP at all".

Another category of memes mainly shows the salient points of the new farm laws. These include the removal of edible oil, onion, cereals, and potatoes from the list of essential goods; the lifting of farmers' uncertainty with regards to the choice of crop; the resultant expansion in production, transport, and distribution will help the economy grow.