US city council to vote on resolution supporting protesting Indian farmers
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Protesters hold placards and shout slogans against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a protest rally in support of farmers against the recent agricultural reforms, in Amritsar on December 13, 2020.
New Delhi: The Seattle City Council will be the first legislative body in the United States to vote on a resolution in support of the protesting Indian farmers.
The resolution to be put for vote on Tuesday, is sponsored by an Indian-American council member Kshama Sawant and co-sponsored by another council member Teresa Mosqueda.
The resolution titled "a resolution expressing the Seattle City Council's solidarity with farmers protesting the passage of farming bills in India and in support of affected members of Seattle's South Asian community," accused that the farm laws passed by the Narendra Modi government have religion and caste-specific impacts.
"Dalit laborers continue to suffer from governmental oppression as well as abuse and harassment within farming communities, many of which have deeply embedded casteism," the resolution says.
It also says that the passage of the bills will result in the privatization of farmers' markets in India and "will adversely affect the financial situation of those in Seattle's South Asian community as well as many other Washingtonians and their families back home,"
The resolution seeks the elected officials, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell representing Seattle at the US Senate, as well as US representatives Pramila Jayapal and Adam Smith to support the farmers and to object to any retaliation or police brutality against them.
