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Farmers’ agitation likely to get prolonged and intense, says NCP chief Pawar
Holding it responsible for the situation, NCP chief asks Centre to take a decision at the earliest
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Friday said that the ongoing farmers’ protest is likely to get prolonged and intense if the Centre doesn’t take a decision at the earliest. He said the protest that is currently on at Delhi’s borders may spread to other parts of the country.
“According to my information, a large number of farmers from different areas have joined the protest today with 700 tractors. Since the stand of the Central government is still unclear, the agitation is likely to get prolonged and become intense in the coming days. Further, it is also likely to spread in other parts as currently it is limited to the Delhi border. I request the Centre not to wait for the farmers to lose their patience and take a decision at the earliest,” the NCP chief said.
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Pawar was talking to reporters at YB Chavan Centre, Nariman Point, in Mumbai.
Holding the Centre responsible for the situation, he said, “The Opposition parties had told the government not to clear the bills in haste as farmers would act against the same. But the government chose to pass each of them within 15-20 minutes without holding proper discussion.”
Pawar, along with other leaders from United Progressive Alliance (UPA) including Rahul Gandhi, had, on Wednesday, met President Ram Nath Kovind with a demand to repeal the farm laws to end the farmers’ protest.
Earlier, he had also observed a one-day fast in solidarity with the eight Rajya Sabha members from the Opposition parties, who were fasting at the Parliament premises against their suspension from the Upper House in September. The Rajya Sabha MPs were opposing the farm bills.
Maharashtra BJP unit said that with his stand towards the farmers’ protest, the NCP chief’s stood exposed as he was the one who had been advocating to bring these reforms as the Union agriculture minister. “His (Sharad Pawar) double face was exposed before the people when we shared the copy of his letters as Union agriculture minister to the chief ministers. The Centre has brought the same set of reforms Pawar was advocating since 2005. He is doing politics of protest. Farmers and the people know it very well,” said state BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari.
He also said that some of the reforms have been implemented in Maharashtra in the past few years and farmers have been reaping their benefits as well.
