NEW DELHI: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) boss Sharad Pawar on Tuesday he said that BJP is trying to divert attention by creating controversy over his letters written during his tenure as union agriculture minister in the UPA dispensation to then-Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Madhya’s CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan Pradesh, asking them to amend the Agricultural Products Marketing Committee (APMC) Act in their states.
“I had said that APMC needs some reforms. The APMC Law should continue but with reforms. There is no doubt that I had written the letter. But its three laws do not even mention the APMC. They are only trying to divert attention. make it important, ”Pawar said at a press conference here.
The head of the PCN said that the leaders of the different political parties will meet tomorrow to take a collective position on the new agricultural laws.
“Tomorrow 5-6 people from different political parties will sit down, discuss and take a collective position … Tomorrow we have an appointment at 5 pm with the President. We will present our collective position to him,” he said.
Earlier, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that Pawar wrote letters to senior ministers calling for “private sector participation” in the market infrastructure.
“Sharad Pawar is also opposed to the new agricultural laws. But when he was agriculture minister, he wrote to all CMs calling for ‘private sector participation’ in the market infrastructure,” he said.
The PNC is among the parties that have supported the Bharat bandh called by the farmers union today.
Hundreds of farmers have been protesting at different borders of the national capital since November 26 against the three recently enacted agricultural laws: the Trade in Agricultural Products and Trade (Promotion and Facilitation) Act of 2020, the Farmers Price Agreement ( Empowerment and Protection) Agricultural Warranty and Services Act 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020.
The leaders of the farmers’ groups have held several rounds of talks with the government, but have so far reached no conclusions. After the fifth round of talks, the Minister of Agriculture of the Union Narendra Singh Tomar has called another meeting on December 9.
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