By Lata Baisoya
Apex Court says farmers’ protest should be allowed to continue
New Delhi: The Supreme Court today said it was of the view “at this stage that the farmers’ protest should be allowed to continue without impediment and without any breach of peace either by the protesters or police.” The Court said that the government should not take any action to implement the law till the court takes a decision. Yesterday, following a PIL, the Supreme Court had said it intended to set up a committee to resolve the farmers’ issue. However, a section of protesting farmers was of the view that forming a new committee was not a solution.
The Court today told the representative of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, “”We are with the plight of farmers and sympathetic to their cause. But you have to alter the way it is going. You have to convince and bring out the solution. We are saying it to you. You have a right to protest. We are not going to interfere. You carry on protests. Your protest has a purpose, and that must be fulfilled by talking to someone. You simply cannot sit on protest for years”.
Meanwhile, the protesting farmer leaders under the banner of Samyukta Kisan Morcha accused the government of making attempts to make their 20-day-old non violent protest “violent” by using coercive tactics against the farmers. “In Uttar Pradesh, the government is stopping farmers everywhere from marching towards Delhi. In districts, they are forcing farmer leaders to fill up Rs. 50 lakh bonds,” Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait claimed in a statement today.
Also read:
- Farmers’ agitation has a multidimensional impact
- “हम 6 महीनें की तैयारी से आये है..दिल्ली कूच की बात आगे देखेगें…”- संयुक्त किसान मोर्चा
- किसान आंदोलन में एक नया मोड़ – कृषि मंत्री का दावा की किसानों का एक बड़ा तबका सरकार के साथ
In the meantime, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar wrote to the farmers stating that misunderstanding was being created by some people with vested interest who were trying to seek political mileage by spreading lies about these reforms. He said the farmers unions should understand this.
Tomar today also met members of Farmer Producer Organisations of Federation of Indian FPOs and Aggregators (FIFA) representing 15 states and around 500 FPOs at Krishi Bhawan, who expressed their support for the recent Agricultural Reforms, today.
“They thanked the minister for the enabling environment which these Acts have created to scale business of FPOs to benefit the small and marginal farmers.They narrated their experiences in which they described how small farmers have benefitted from the recent reforms and Farm Acts,” a Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare press release stated.
The recent Agricultural Reforms, which the government claims can support FPOs to setup their own markets to enhance the incomes of farmers are –: the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion & Facilitation) Act, 2020; the Farmers (Empowerment & Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; Liberalisation of control orders under the Essential Commodities Act; Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) and operational guidelines for promotion of 10,000 FPOs.
“These reforms in Agriculture sector will lead to increased volume of production of horticulture crops and value-added commodities; Institutional credit to strengthen small farmers and Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs); will boost the agri-logistic infrastructure in a major way; will develop backward and forward linkages to meet demand of all consumption zones of India; will lead to One Nation One Market and will make the FPO movement a mass movement,” the Ministry reiterated.
It informed that NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd.) had been designated as one of the National Implementing Agencies for formation and promotion of 10000 FPOs Programme of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. NAFED has acquired FIFA to provide market linkage support to the FPOs for their produce and create markets in partnership with the FPOs under the brand of NAFED e-Kisan Mandi (NeKM) which will be connected to the National Digital Marketing platform being created by NAFED.
