Farmers Movement Archive

Mumbai: MVA allies plan protest over farm amendment bills

Mumbai: Smaller constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) have threatened to stage protests on the streets if the state government does not withdraw the three proposed farm law amendment bills that had been tabled in the state legislature. The decision was taken at a meeting on Thursday by the MVA’s smaller parties, including Peasants and Workers Party (PWP), Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS), Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA). “Instead of the proposed amendments to the central government’s farm legislations, the state should have introduced separate Bills for the welfare of farmers to prove that the Acts are ‘ineffective’,” Raju Shetti of SSS said. He added that he recently met NCP chief Sharad Pawar, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and urged them to introduce separate farm bills in the state legislature. Hitendra Thakur, president of BVA, told TOI that besides the agriculture Bills, they also discussed issues like waiver of residential electricity bill and fees charged by private schools. “People have been badly hit by the pandemic; many have also lost their jobs. To help them, the state should waive off residential power bills and provide aid to unaided schools,” he said. On June 5, the MVA had introduced amendments to counter the Centre’s enacted farm laws—the Essential Commodities Act 1955, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act 2020, and Farmers’ Produce, Trade, and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act 2020. three amendment draft Bills in the state legislature to counter the Centre’s enacted farm laws. The Bills have been placed in the public domain for two months inviting suggestions and objections.

The Times of India

2021-07-16

Mumbai