Farmers Movement Archive

‘Farmer unions to be represented in govt MSP panel, urge farmers to go home’: Narendra Tomar

Farmer unions will be represented in the committee announced by the Union government to discuss several related issues, including the minimum support price (MSP) system, Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Saturday.“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced to constitute a committee to deliberate on the issues of crop diversification, zero-budget farming, and making the MSP system more transparent and effective. This committee will have representatives from the farmers' organisations,” news agency ANI quoted the minister as saying.“With the constitution of this committee, farmers' demand on MSP stands fulfilled,” he added.Also read | Govt to table farm repeal bill on Day 1 of winter session; Congress issues whipsTomar also confirmed that the bill to repeal the three farm laws would be tabled in Parliament on the first day of the Winter Session, scheduled to begin on Monday (November 29).On Wednesday, the Union Cabinet approved the proposal to take back the three contentious laws, against which the farmers union have been protesting for a year.While the farmers have said that the repeal of three laws is only a part of their many demands, Tomar said there was “no point” in continuing the protests after the announcement and urged them to leave.“After the announcement of the repeal of the three farm laws, there is no point in continuing farmers' agitation. I urge farmers to end their agitation and go home,” he said.The Union agriculture minister noted that the Centre has also accepted the unions’ demand for decriminalising stubble burning by farmers.State governments will decide on the issue of cases registered on farmers during the protests and also regarding the compensation to be provided to them, Tomar noted.“As far as cases registered during the protest are concerned, it comes under the jurisdiction of state governments and they will take a decision. State governments will decide on the issue of compensation too, as per their state policy,” he said.The remarks from Tomar came as the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of several farmer unions that has spearheaded the demonstrations in Delhi’s borders, is set to meet on Saturday to discuss the future course of actions regarding the protests.“We have a meeting of the SKM on Saturday and the future course of our action will be decided only after that. We have planned a march towards Delhi on November 29, but SKM will take a call about it on Saturday,” news agency PTI quoted Saurabh Upadhyay, spokesperson for the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) as saying.The farmers’ agitation against the three laws completed one year on Friday.(With agency inputs)

Hindustan Times

27-11-2021

India