Chandigarh, Nov 19 (IANS) Hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement to repeal three farm laws, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday said repealing the laws has once again highlighted the supreme character of the Prime Minister.
The Chief Minister told the media here that for more than a year since the Central government had brought three agriculture laws for the benefit of farmers, especially small and marginal ones, unfortunately, some farmer unions had been protesting on the Delhi borders.
"Today, Narendra Modi while once again choosing the larger public interest announced to repeal these laws. However, soon after the introduction of these laws, a large number of farmers had considered these laws beneficial for them and had also appreciated the Central government," said Khattar.
He said the decision of the Prime Minister showed that keeping the interest of the public was paramount for him as he announced to rollback the laws in the upcoming session of Parliament.
"Like Prime Minister, I would also urge farmers sitting on Delhi borders to immediately end their protest and return to their homes as the common man is also facing a lot of difficulties due to this agitation. Now, positive attitude should be adopted towards this issue," he said.
On the constitution of a committee for considering the demands of the farmers related to the minimum support price (MSP), Khattar said in the committee, representatives of farmer unions, state governments and scientists would be included.
"I hope a decision in this regard will also be taken soon," added the Chief Minister.
Responding to a question regarding withdrawal of cases registered against farmers, he said in these cases many other issues were taken into consideration.
"Some cases are general while in some incidents cases are registered under serious sections. Now, a positive initiative will be taken from the state government's side too and there will be no controversies."
Saying the state faced a major impact with the agitation in the past one year, Khattar said: "I have held various meetings with the Prime Minister, senior leaders and even with farmer unions. As many as 11 formal meetings were held with the farmers on this issue, along with many informal meetings for sharing their message with the Centre.
"I think the effort put in by us has also played an important role in the decision taken by the Prime Minister."
Facing massive statewide agitation by farmers over power outages, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday issued directions to ensure eight-hour uninterrupted power supply and to purchase deficient power from outside the state at any cost to prevent any supply disruption in the ongoing sowing season.
Bengaluru City Police Commissioner, Kamal Pant, told reporters that the police teams were forced to open fire after firing warning shots in the air as the accused persons resisted the search teams' efforts to nab them.
On the occasion of Bhagat Kabir Ji Jayanti, the Chief Minister also announced that his government will soon disburse Rs 560 crore to the landless farm labourers under the Debt Waiver Scheme.
Custom officials at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here have seized 80 iPhones from two passengers arriving from Sharjah. They found the iPhones worth over Rs 1 crore while checking the luggage of the two passengers who had arrived by flight G9-458 on Wednesday.
The Maharashtra government on Wednesday approved Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL) to operate the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport in the adjoining Thane-Raigad region, an official said here.
The session ensued a detailed discussion about the rising air pollution as well as the steps that need to be taken up by authorities as well as the community to manage the deteriorating air quality.
