Farmers Movement Archive

Maharashtra Congress collects 58.77 lakh signatures to protest against farm, labour laws

As part of its nation-wide protest against the newly enacted farm and labour laws, Maharashtra Congress collected signatures of 58,76,881 farmers, labourers and workers over the last two months. The signatures collected from across the county will be submitted to the President of India Ram Nath Kovind by Congress’s interim president Sonia Gandhi on November 19 to register protest against the laws and press the demand of their revocation.Maharashtra Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat handed over the set of signatures to senior leader and Maharashtra in-charge HK Patil at party’s Dadar office, on Tuesday. Senior party leaders including minister Nitin Raut, Aslam Shaikh, Amit Deshmukh, Mumbai Congress chief Eknath Gaikwad, leaders Arif Naseem Khan, Amin Patel, Hussain Dalwai were present on the occasion.Patil said that the response to the signature campaign shows the opposition to the laws, and the drive in Maharasthra has become a role model for the country. “This is a historic campaign and will help to push our demand for repealing the newly enacted farm and labour laws. Maharashtra has always shown the path to the rest of the country. It should also enact a law which could protect the interest of the farmers and would be better than Punjab. We are committed to the welfare of the party,” he said.Thorat said that the state government was appointing a cabinet sub-committee to promulgate a separate farm law to safeguard the interest of the farmers. “All the three ruling parties in Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) are on the same page as far as the opposition to the farm laws is concerned. We are planning a separate law with strict provisions like the criminal case against the trader not paying minimum support price for the procurement of the farm produce. The Modi government’s policies have crushed the farmers in the last six years. The massive campaign launched by the Congress has received an overwhelming response from the farmers despite Covid-19 pandemic, unseasonal rainfall which shows the anger among them over these policies,” he said.The state unit collected 58,76,881 signatures from farmers, labourers, workers from across the state with districts like Kolhapur, Ahmednagar, Nanded, Chandrapur collecting a huge number of signatures. The signatures thus collected from across the country will be handed over to President Ram Nath Kovind on November 19 by a delegation headed by party president Sonia Gandhi. The Maharashtra unit of the party conducted virtual farmer rally, tractor rallies, agitations at tehsil levels and implemented signature campaign over the last two months after the laws were passed in the Parliament. Mumbai Congress to get its new chief soon?HK Patil, Maharashtra in charge for the party held series of meetings with the party leaders including former and incumbent ministers, MLAs, corporators, head of the frontal organisation to take their opinion on the changes need to be done. Most of the leaders reportedly expressed the need for the change in leadership and party to go solo in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections to be held in 2021.“Patil and other observers met these leaders in the second round of such meetings at party’s Dadar officer and at Sahyadri guest house on Tuesday. The first round with the Mumbai leaders was held last month. We expect the appointment of the new chief of the Mumbai unit to be announced in next couple of weeks,” said a senior party leader.Mumbai Congress is currently headed by senior party leader Eknath Gaikwad. Former MLA Bhai Jagtap, former ministers Suresh Shetty, Arif Naseem Khan and leader Amarjeet Singh Manhas are believed to be the frontrunner for the post.

Hindustan Times

17-11-2020

Mumbai