Member of Supreme Court appoint-panel on farm laws, Anil Jaysingh Ghanwat has written to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) N V Ramana asking the top court to release the report for implementation of recommendations of the panel on the contentious farm laws.
“I am humbly pleading to the honourable Supreme Court to kindly release the report for implementation of its recommendations for peaceful resolution of the stalemate to the farmers’ satisfaction at the earliest,” President of the Shetkari Sangathana, Ghanwant wrote to the CJI on September 1.
In the same letter Ghanwat has also said that as a member of the Committee especially representing the farmers’ community, he is pained that the issue raised by the farmers isn’t yet resolved and the agitation is continuing. Expressing his anguish that the Supreme Court is yet to act on the report, Ghanwat writes, “I feel that the report has not been given any attention by the Hon’ble Supreme Court.”
On January 12, 2021, the Supreme Court had suspended the implementation of the farm laws and constituted a four-member panel to give its recommendations on the suspended laws. Of the four members, Bhupinder Singh Mann had quit the panel. The three members – Ashok Gulati, agricultural economist and former chairman of the Commission of Agricultural Costs and Prices; Dr Pramod Kumar Joshi, director of the International Food Policy and Research Institute; and Anil Ghanwat submitted their report on March 19, 2021, after speaking to various stakeholders from the Central and State governments, various farmer unions and also representatives from the industry. However, the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha that spearheaded the agitation for the last nine months, had boycotted the panel after labelling it as pro-farm laws. The Sanyukt Kisan Morcha had welcomed the suspension of the implementation of the farm laws by the Supreme Court but at the same time stayed away from appearing in front of the panel. The agitating farmers have called for nothing short of a repeal of the three farm laws.
Speaking to CNN News 18, Ghanwat said that while he is a member of the SC committee, he is a farmer leader first. The committee was formed to resolve the stalemate between the government and protesting farmer unions on the three farm laws and though six months have passed since the committee submitted its report, there is no action on the same.
“The andolan is continuing and people are dying on the streets, it is painful to see that. I have written to the Supreme Court to please make the report public so that there can be an open debate and agitating farmers will also come to know what the report contains, if needed corrections can be made and the issue must be resolved. It is very very distressing to see farmers on the road,” said Ghanwat.
He appeared sceptical of the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha’s demand for a repeal of the three farm laws. “Anyway, their demands may be wrong but it is not in favour of the country to keep an agitation going on for so long,” he said.
“Apart from their demand of a repeal, let the agitating farmers read the report and after that, if they feel there are any lacunas, those can also be addressed,” Ghanwat added.
Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Assembly Elections Live Updates here.
Comments
0 comment