Farmers Movement Archive

Will not appear before any committee that SC may appoint, declare farmers

NEW DELHI: Farm unions opposed to the new central farm Acts on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court's suggestion to stay implementation of the laws, but said the "laws must be repealed forthwith" and made it clear that they will not participate either collectively or individually in any proceedings before a committee that may be appointed by the apex court. "We met our lawyers this (Monday) evening at length and after deliberation on pros and cons of the suggestions of the committee, we informed them that we are unanimously not agreeable to go before any committee," said the 'Samyukta Kisan Morcha' - a platform which represents all 40 unions, including 32 from Punjab, which have been in discussions with government. The Morcha in a joint statement said, "All the farmer organizations who are spearheading the fight against the farm laws are unanimous in their decision that laws must be repealed forthwith." The concern of the unions, as evident from the views of individual leaders, is about options in case the committee concluded the laws were constitutionally valid or that there was merit in them. Any conclusion that the laws are not altogether bad for farmers would put the repeal demand in jeopardy. They also expressed fears that the stir will lose momeuntum if suspended. In a late development, the government filed an affidavit in the apex court saying the farm laws received wide acceptance across the country. The government is against repeal of the laws and has claimed that the legislations took shape after two decades of intense deliberations and consultations with the stakeholders. The stand of farm unions reflect their unease with suggestions of setting up a committee to discuss various clauses of the laws as they believe that the move would eventually end up suggesting amendments to Acts which they have already rejected. They also argue that the government repeatedly told the Court that it won't discuss "repeal" issue before the panel.

The Times of India

2021-01-12

India