Monthly Archives: August 2018

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 12

Stating that they will not appear before the Supreme Court-appointed committee, farmers’ unions have claimed that members of the said panel are pro-government.

“Members of SC panel are not dependable as they have been writing on how agriculture laws are pro-farmer,” Farmer unions added.

Supreme Court can repeal the farm laws suo motu, they told a press conference.

“We never demanded from SC to form a committee, the government is behind all this,” said farmer leader Balbeer Singh Rajewal on the panel formed by court.

“Our protest will continue and it is for indefinite time.” The tractor march in Delhi on January 26 will be peaceful, they added.

“We will go in meeting with the Centre on January 15,” the unions said.

Earlier, farmer leaders welcomed the Supreme Court’s order to stay the implementation of three farm laws on Tuesday, but said they would not call off their protest until the legislations are repealed.

The Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of around 40 protesting farmer unions, has called a meeting later in the day to decide the next course of action.

The farmer leaders said they are not willing to participate in any proceedings before a committee appointed by the Supreme Court, but a formal decision on this will be taken by the Morcha.

“We welcome the court’s order to stay the implementation of the farm laws, but we want a complete repeal of these laws,” Abhimanyu Kohar, a senior leader of the Morcha, told PTI.

Also read:

Supreme Court stays implementation of farm laws

3 more protesting farmers die at Tikri border

Farmers’ agitation has been fearless: Filmmaker Gurvinder Singh

Opposition parties get behind farmers, want farm bills repealed

Another farmer leader, Harinder Lokhwal, said the protest would continue until the contentious farm laws are repealed.

The Supreme Court stayed the implementation of the controversial farm laws till further orders on Tuesday and decided to set up a committee to resolve the impasse between the Centre and the farmers’ unions protesting at Delhi’s borders over the legislations.

A bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde said it would pass an order to this effect.

The committee will look into the farmers’ grievances against the three laws.

Thousands of farmers, mostly from Haryana and Punjab, have been protesting at several border points of Delhi since November 28 last year, demanding a repeal of the three laws and a legal guarantee on the minimum support price for their crops.

In a statement, the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee noted that the court was not inclined to pass any orders on the ongoing protests with regard to vacating farmers from the Delhi borders and welcomed the same.

Suspending the implementation of the laws as an interim measure is welcome but is not a solution and the farmer unions have not been asking for this solution, given the fact that the implementation can be reinstated at any time. The government must withdraw. It must understand that farmers and people of India are opposed to the laws, it said in a statement.

Farmer unions reiterate the fact that they will not participate in any court-ordered committee process further, one of their apprehensions about such a process got validated in the very constitution of the committee. It is clear that the court is being misguided by various forces even in its constitution of a committee. These are people who are known for their support to the three Acts and have actively advocated for the same. — With PTI inputs

By putting on hold the implementation of the three controversial farm laws until further orders, the Supreme Court has said it is trying to solve the problem in the best way. There is little room to disagree, considering the deadlock and unlikelihood of any forward movement in the talks between the Centre and the protesting farmers. The unions’ immediate reaction not to back down from their demand of the repeal of laws is not surprising. A month-and-a-half of a peaceful, organised protest in extreme conditions, riding on popular sentiment and support, lends strength to the conviction of purpose. But opting for a point of no return and a prolonged holdout — by the government and the protesters — cannot be seen as a prudent stand. As Chief Justice Bobde observed, ‘These are matters of life and death. We are concerned with laws. We are concerned with lives and property of people affected by the agitation.’

The court’s intervention lends an opportunity to come out with possible solutions which both sides can agree not to disagree on, but questions are bound to be raised over the composition of the committee if the perception is that all the four members support the new laws. Only a suitable mix would make the discussions meaningful and lend weight to it being a forum for a frank and open discussion. If the opposition is to the manner and intent of the reform proposed and not the idea of reform itself, there is merit in bringing forth articulate, informed depositions on the pros and cons, the apprehensions, the distrust. Much of the onus lies on the government. It has to show its willingness to new proposals and assurances that the farmers cannot do without.

Keeping in view the proposed protest march in the Capital on Republic Day, a notice has been issued to the unions on a Delhi Police plea to stop their tractor rally during the January 26 parade. The fervent hope is that the need for such a protest does not arise.

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 12

Hours after the Supreme Court stayed the implementation of the three farm laws, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today convened an emergency Cabinet meeting on January 14 to discuss implications of the orders.

Ahead of the meeting, the Chief Minister has asked Advocate General (AG) Atul Nanda to examine the SC order in detail.

With the SC staying implementation of the three laws and farmers rejecting the same, the Congress government might have to change the line of its legal recourse in consultation with legal experts, said a senior government functionary.

The state government had already finalised requisite petitions for challenging the central Acts. “Since these Acts impact the lives and futures of our farmers, all decisions will be taken carefully and judiciously at an opportune time,” the Chief Minister had said.

“With the SC staying implementation of the laws, it is to be seen whether the state challenges the three Acts or appears before the three-member committee named by the apex court to put across its point of views. The state has already moved amendments to the central laws in the Vidhan Sabha, though pending with the Governor,” said a legal expert.

The Chief Minister had stated that although matters related to agriculture were mentioned in List II (State List) of the Constitution of India and fell under the exclusive domain of the state government, the Government of India had enacted the three contentious farm laws under provisions related to Agriculture Marketing mentioned in List III (Concurrent List).

Being a central legislation, the state government had limited options under Article 254(2) of the Constitution and had exercised the same with the Assembly passing Bills to amend the central laws. As per the law of the land, Bills passed by the Assembly were mandatorily required to be sent to the Governor, who after studying these had to give his consent for forwarding these to the President for approval, the CM had said.

Box

AG asked to examine ruling

* Advocate General Atul Nanda has been asked to examine the SC order in detail

* The Congress govt had already finalised requisite petitions for challenging the central Acts

* With SC staying implementation of laws, the state may have to change line of its legal recourse

Tribune Reporters

Ferozepur/muktsar, Jan 12

Adding to the mounting toll, five more farmers have died in various parts of the state.

Baba Naseeb Singh Maan (55) allegedly shot himself at his home in Mehma village in Mamdot block of Ferozepur district on Monday evening in protest against the farm laws.

As per information, the deceased farmer had released a video on December 20 and made a public announcement during a farmers’ meeting that if the Union Government did not repeal the anti-farmer laws, he would shoot himself the way Baba Ram Singh did on December 17 last year. Yesterday, Maan addressed the farmers during a meeting before killing himself. A few days ago, he had participated in a tractor rally and exhorted other farmers to stay united.

A pall of gloom descended on the village as the news of his death spread. A suicide note has also been found. The police have started an investigation. In his previous video, recorded on December 20, Naseeb was heard saying if the government did not pay heed to their demands, they would start giving “shahadat” (sacrifice) like Gurus. SI Chanchal, Investigation Officer, said the body had been handed over to the family members after a postmortem.

In another incident, a young farmer from Sawai Ke village in the Mamdot area died due to illness after returning from a Delhi protest site. The deceased has been identified as Lovepreet Singh (25), who along with a few other farmers had gone to the Kundli border in Haryana on December 11 to join the protest. However, during this period, he fell ill due to cold. He was brought back to his village yesterday, but his condition did not improve. As per information, Lovepreet had lost his father a few years ago and was currently living with his grandparents and owned two acres of agricultural land.

In Muktsar, two more farmers died today, taking the toll in the district to four in three days. Avtar Singh (79), a resident of Lohara village, reportedly died of cardiac arrest while sleeping in a trailer at the Tikri border. He had reportedly gone there to support the protesters on December 17. Though his family members had asked him to come back due to the prevailing cold weather, he stayed on saying he would return home only when the Centre repealed the farm laws, said his neighbours.

Avtar’s grandson Gurbhej Singh has sought a financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh from the district administration, saying the family was already under huge debt.

Another elderly farmer, Jagtar Singh from Barkandi village, died of cardiac arrest today. The deceased had returned from Delhi two days ago. A relative said he had been suffering from a cardiac problem for the past few years and passed away this afternoon. The cremation would be held on Wednesday.

Notably, a 61-year-old farmer, Jagdish Singh, from Lundewala village had reportedly died of cardiac arrest at the Tikri border on Monday. Farmer Harpinder Singh, alias Neetu Khalsa, from Abul Khurana village, had died at a hospital in Ludhiana on Sunday night after developing some health issues at the Tikri border a few days ago.

Meanwhile, the Ludhiana farmer who consumed a poisonous substance at the Singhu border on Monday evening died at a private hospital today.

The deceased has been identified as Labh Singh (49) of Sirthala in Ludhiana. He was working as ‘chowkidar’ in the soil testing laboratory of the Agriculture Department in Samrala. He had gone to the Singhu border in support of farmers’ protest a week ago. The police handed over the body to his kin after a postmortem.

Leaders attend last rites of deceased

Sensing the gravity of the situation, politicians are also attending the cremation of farmers who died while lodging a protest at the Delhi borders. Congress MLA from Gidderbaha Amarinder Singh Raja Warring attended the cremation of farmer Jagdish Singh. Thereafter, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal also visited the deceased’s residence

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 12

The Opposition parties have once again reiterated that the three farm acts should be repealed and a special Parliament session called to discuss the whole gamut of agrarian issues.

Leaders from the Congress, the TMC, the RJD, the CPI (M), the CPI and the Forward Bloc put forward these views while taking part in the ‘Special Kisan Session’ of the Janta Parliament, which was moderated by leading activist P Sainath.

“It is very clear that these farm laws are not for the welfare of our kisans. These are meant for profiteering of the corporates,” CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said.

“We have said on a number of occasions that these laws have to be repealed and a legislation be brought to ensure the MSP. However, without a guarantee of procurement, the MSP will not be helpful. Only 6 per cent of farmers get the benefit of MSP in the country, MSP has to cover every farmer and every crop until that happens legislation will not be effective,” Yechury added.

Prominent politicians who took part in the discussion were K Raju and Rajeev Gowda (Congress), D Raja (CPI), Sukhendu Sekhar Roy (TMC), Dipankar Bhattacharya (CPI-ML) Ghanshyam Tiwari (SP) and G Devarajan (Forward Bloc).

Throwing the party’s weight behind farmer agitation, RJD MP and spokesperson Manoj Jha said that the opposition parties have not done enough to support the cause.

“I have no qualms in accepting that opposition parties have not come out of their comfort zone. We have not done our bit,” Jha said.

“We believe that a special session in Parliament will not help if it is bereft of debate. There has to be a difference between monologue, which this government is so fond of and a dialogue amongst colleagues. So we want a special session to discuss the farm issues and later on it should be sent to a select committee,” he added.