Farmers Movement Archive

Handle farmers’ stir with sensitivity: NCP chief to Centre

PUNE: NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday urged the Centre to handle the agitation against the farm laws with sensitivity. He said most of the protestors are from Punjab and that the nation cannot afford to upset farmers of Punjab. “In the past, the country paid the price for upsetting Punjab,” Pawar said, apparently referring to the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi. Pawar, who has handled defence and agriculture portfolios at the Centre, said he visited the protest sites two or three times and said the Union government’s stand on the farmers’ demands “does not seem rational”. Pawar said, “I advise the Union government to not upset the farmers of Punjab, which is a border state. If we upset farmers and people from border regions, there will be consequences.” Pawar said people living in border areas face several security-related issues which residents of states such as Maharashtra do not experience and so, when the farmers sit in protest for this long, paying attention to them was of “national importance”, Pawar said. The farmers are demanding the Centre repeal laws passed in September that they say will ruin their livelihoods. The government insists the new policy will benefit the growers and refuses to withdraw the legislation. After months of protests, more than 10 rounds of talks and a Supreme Court order to temporarily suspend the laws, the government says it would consider some amendments and could delay implementation by as much as 18 months.

The Times of India

2021-10-17

Pune