New Delhi: Nearly 50 artistes from Chennai have released a statement expressing solidarity with thousands of farmers who are at the Delhi borders, protesting against the three controversial farm laws.The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion & Facilitation) Act 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment & Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 were passed earlier this year and have seen pitched protests since.“We are perturbed by the manner in which these laws were hastily passed during the COVID-19 pandemic without a proper consultation with all the stakeholders,” say the artistes in a statement.Farmers have repeatedly stressed that the manner in which the laws were brought, in hurry and excluding those most affected by it, has been a sore point.Also read: Amending Few Clauses Not Sufficient, Repeal Farm Acts: Senior Economists to Agri Minister“The above laws that aim at altering the legal framework of India’s agricultural policies would gravely impact the small holders and marginal farmers. Dismantling the Minimum Support Price system will leave them extremely vulnerable to competition from large corporate houses,” the release reads.Protesting farmers have asked for a complete repeal of the three laws or the addition of a fourth law, guaranteeing MSP.“Disabling the right to legal recourse, by exclusion of adjudication by the judiciary, is unprecedented and smacks of authoritarianism. Lakhs of farmers have been protesting at the outskirts of Delhi round the clock, braving the harsh weather, with a legitimate demand to repeal these laws. The state, instead of addressing the bona fide concerns of farmers has chosen to adopt draconian measures, including use of tear gas and water cannon to disperse the protesters,” the artiste’s say.The statement also condemns police use of force on protesting farmers and the tactics used to suppress their voices.“We object to criminalisation of non-violent forms of dissent and demonisation of farmers by the state and some sections of the media, a tactic that is now being used with alarming regularity to shut out legitimate concerns of citizens,” they write.“We express our support and stand in solidarity as artistes who have a stake in upholding the right of every citizen to freedom of expression and urge the Government to accede to the demands of the farmers by repealing all the three Acts and to desist from interfering with the right of citizens to participate in a democracy through a non-violent protest,” the statement says.Below are the signatories:1. Mu. Ramasamy, writer, theatre artiste2. Mangai, writer, theatre artiste3. Pasupathy, film actor, theatre artiste4. Pralayan, writer, theatre artiste5. Hans Kaushik, theatre artiste6. Madhusree, dancer7. Anoushka Kurien, dancer8. P.S. Mithran, director9. Devika S, theatre artiste10. Vijay Ravikumar, theatre artiste11. Krishna Devanandan, dancer, theatre artiste12. Preethi Athreya, dancer, choreographer13. Kaveri Bharath, potter14. Palani, theatre artiste15. Meera Krishnamurthi, dancer, theatre artiste16. Laya Kumaravel, artiste17. Anandsami, theatre artiste18. Sravanthi, dancer19. Abhaydev Praful, musician20. Ramya, dancer21. Anushka Meenakshi, documentary film maker22. Anish Anto, actor23. Aruna Shankar, actor24. Ashwini Kasi, actor25. Madhan Mani, musician26. Muthumurthy, musician, actor27. Nirupama Thomas, visual artist28. Palanikkoothan, actor, director29. Regin Rose, actor, director30. Rutva S, Actor, writer31. Shazia Akbar, artist32. Sowmiya, actor33. Srijith Sundaram, actor, director34. Tamilarasan S, actor35. Prabu Mani, theatre artiste36. Sekher, theatre artiste37. Irfana Hameed, artiste, musician38. Sanjay Premanand, visual artist39. Amarnath Praful, visual artist40. Manoj Jahson, filmmaker41. Parvathy, visual artist42. Kamatchi, theatre maker and teacher43. Tara Thomas, writer44. Akila, dancer45. Natesh, light designer, virtual artist46. Sruthi Sriram, art therapist47. Hariharan, graphic designer48. Ranjani Prasad, screenwriter49. Ramani Modukuri, illustrator