Will bring lakh farmers to Delhi in support of reforms: SC panel member
Darpan News Desk IANS, 23 Nov, 2021 12:45 PM
New Delhi, Nov 23 (IANS) Member of the Supreme Court appointed committee on farm laws, Anil Ghanwat, on Tuesday wrote to the apex court to release their committee's report and also said he will mobilise a lakh farmers, who support farm reforms, to Delhi.
Ghanwat's Committee has submitted a report in connection with the three contentious farm laws, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced to repeal on November 19.
The Shetkari Sanghatana leader from Maharashtra reached Delhi on Monday and held a meeting with another member of the panel, agriculture economist, Ashok Gulati.
Ghanwat told media, "I have written a letter to the Supreme Court again today demanding it to release our report. Now that the three laws are going to be repealed, this report can play an educational role."
Whether or not the Committee will bring out that report in public by itself will be decided later, he said.
The Supreme Court had appointed the three-member committee - apart from Ghanawat and Gulati, the third member is P.K. Joshi - in January this year while staying the three farm laws. The Committee had submitted the report in March after a wide multi-stakeholder consultation.
However, since then neither did the apex court make use of any of its recommendations nor was the report made public. Ghanawat had, in September, written to the then Chief Justice of India, to release the report so that its recommendations can be used by the government for resolving the agitation of the farmers that had turned widespread with even violence disturbing at some places. This is Ghanwat's second letter after his first in September to the apex court.
Explaining that he and his team never wanted to pitch farmers against farmers and therefore never took to streets till date, Ghanwat said, however, now that the PM has announced to repeal the laws, we will take to the streets if needed.
"But we don't want to disturb Delhi. We will bring at least a lakh genuinely worried farmers, who support reforms in agriculture," Ghanwat said.
Commenting on the Samyukt Kisan Morcha's demand to legalise Minimum Support Price (MSP) along with cancelling the three laws, Ghanwat said, "MSP is not the answer, it can never be. Farmers need to diversify. Look at progressive farmers in Maharashtra - farmers are doing dairy, fisheries, poultry and orchards."
Technology freedom and trade freedom should help the farmers as against the current practices of price regulation by the government by way of import or export ban, he said.
Sanjeev Sabhlok, an advisor, said, "We need an Agriculture Policy, we need a white paper on the issue with wider consultation."
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Balbir Singh Rajewal told the media here after the day-long deliberations with the political parties, except the BJP, that they had told the political parties not to hold big rallies till elections in the state are announced.
Naqvi further stated that the long-pending demand of Kartarpur Corridor has been fulfilled and the government has also decided to start the 'Gurudwara circuit train' that will take passengers on a pilgrimage across the country.
Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait on Wednesday announced that they will continue the peaceful protest here and will not obstruct any official day to day activities. He said that farmers across the state will continue the agitation on the lines of ongoing protests at the Delhi borders.
The drug money is allegedly linked with the seizure of 17 kg heroin, which was recovered by the police in Amritsar (Rural) on August 26 after arresting Ranjit Singh, alias Sonu.
The demands included an FIR and strict action against SDM Ayush Sinha, who on August 28 instructed the police to beat the protesting farmers. A video-clip of Sinha ordering the force to smash the farmers' heads had stirred a row after it went viral on social media.
