Two parties, Congress and the PNC, of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi coalition have declared that they will not implement the farm laws passed amid huge protests in Parliament on Sunday. Shiv Sena, whose prime minister Uddhav Thackeray heads the government, has yet to make his position public on the issue, although he has been criticizing the central government for the bills.
The vice minister and leader of the Nationalist Congress, Ajit Pawar, said that the farm and labor bills will not be implemented in the state. Maharashtra state finance minister and head of Congress Balasaheb Thorat said that all ruling parties are against the recently enacted laws and that the decision not to implement them in the state will be made collectively after due deliberation.
Congress and the NCP supported the national protest by farmers to oppose the passage of three farm laws. Various farmer organizations such as Akhil Bhartiya Kisan Sabha, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, Lok Sangharsh Morcha held protest marches, blocked roads, burned copies of the bills and formed human chains in at least 21 districts of Maharashtra on Friday to oppose the projects. Of law. Peasant organizations have announced that they will intensify the protest if the central government does not withdraw the bills.
“These bills were rushed through. We are studying the legality of the bills. I have received a call not to implement them in the state, ”said Ajit Pawar. Her cabinet colleague, Balasaheb Thorat, also spoke out against the bills. “We have been opposing tooth and nail. We will discuss the laws among ourselves to take action against their implementation in the state, ”said Thorat.
The Shiv Sena has drawn criticism from Maharashtra BJP leaders for its “hypocritical stance” in supporting the bills in the Lok Sabha and leaving in the Rajya Sabha.
“The issue will be discussed in the coordinating committee of three parties. Our position this time was similar to that taken during the CAA debate in Parliament earlier this year. But on agricultural issues we would not support the bills and their implementation in Maharashtra. The position will be clarified in due course, ”said a Sena official requesting anonymity.
The Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, led by former MP Raju Shetti, burned copies of the bills in Kolhapur.
“Shetkari Sanghatana has always been against the Agricultural Products Market Committees (APMC) and our leader Sharad Joshi used to call these committees ‘slaughterhouses’ of farmers. However, we do not support the way the central government is rejecting the existing system of marketing agricultural products. This is nothing more than an attempt to turn farmers into slaves in the hands of industrialists, ”said Shetti.
He said it is the step towards the privatization of the Food Corporation of India and the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (Nafed), which buy around 30% of agricultural products.
Ajit Nawale, ABKS general secretary, said that the protests were carried out in 21 districts of the state by farmers.
“At least farmers have some mechanism to market their products at a reasonable price in the form of APMC today. The bills passed in Parliament are the first step to transfer agricultural marketing to a few industrial companies that will decide the prices of products. Although the Center has claimed that these bills are a way of freeing farmers from the clutches of CMPA, the government has freed itself from the responsibilities of fair and remunerative prices for farmers. In Maharashtra, the Fadnavis government had introduced bills to regularize APMC, but could not establish an alternative mechanism to APMC to offer farmers remunerative prices for their products. It was a failed attempt, ”he said.
Farmers from Thane, Palghar, Nashik carried out rasta roko on national highways including Mumbai-Jaipur-Delhi.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Congress announced a program to be implemented over the next five weeks to oppose agricultural laws.
The party has announced that it will organize a #SpekaUpForFarmers campaign on social media to gain support against the bills, a virtual farmers’ rally and gather signatures of 1 crore farmers who oppose the bills.
Senior Congressional Leader HK Patil, who has recently been appointed head of the Maharashtra Congress, said at a press conference in Mumbai: “Under pressure from big industries, the Modi government passed the bills on agriculture and work that will uproot and destroy farmers and workers in the country. The bills will bring back the Zamindari feudal system in the country. The laws must be repealed immediately. “
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