NEW DELHI: A delegation of opposition parties will meet President Ram Nath Kovind on Dec. 9 out of concerns about the three new farm laws enacted by the Center in September and to seek their repeal, senior leaders said Tuesday.
CPM Secretary General Sitaram Yechury said the five-member delegation – Congress leader Rahul gandhi, Head of NCP Sharad Pawar, a representative of the DMKHe and the general secretary of the CPI, D Raja, will meet with the president tomorrow at 5 pm on behalf of the opposition parties.
“The five of us will probably meet before meeting with the president and finalizing our strategy. We have spoken with all the opposition leaders and decided on our next course of action. The delegation has been limited to five due to the Covid-19 situation. Although we are trying to see if they will allow more leaders to join. In that case, we have to rush the leaders to Delhi as they are mostly in their respective states, “Yechury said.
CPI Secretary General D Raja also confirmed that the delegation will meet with Kovind on Wednesday.
“The leaders of the different political parties (those who oppose the farm bills) will sit down, discuss and take a collective position on the controversial farm laws before meeting with President Ram Nath Kovind,” Pawar told reporters .
A sit-in by the opposition parties was ruled out as most of the leaders are not in Delhi.
Opposition parties, including Congress, have extended their support for the peasant agitation and demanded the repeal of all three laws.
The three farm laws enacted in September have been projected by the government as major reforms in the agricultural sector that will eliminate middlemen and allow farmers to sell anywhere in the country.
However, protesting farmers have expressed fear that the new laws would pave the way for removing the Minimum Livelihood Price safety cushion and eliminating mandis, leaving them at the mercy of large corporations. The Center has repeatedly stated that these mechanisms will continue.
.
