'Farmers will get justice,' says Anil Ghanwat, member of SC panel on farm laws
SC on Tuesday, after putting a stay on the farm laws' implementation, formed a four-member panel to listen to grievances of the protesting farmers and the point of view of the government on the issue. The committee is to submit its report to the court on the same within two months.
One of the members of the Supreme Court panel on farm laws and president of the Maharashtra-based farmer organisationShetkari Sanghatana, Anil Ghanwat said that the "protesting farmers will get justice."
"This movement should stop somewhere and a law should be made in the interest of farmers. First we need to listen to farmers, if they have any misconception about Minimum Support Price (MSP) and Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC), we will clear it, they need to be assured that whatever is happening is in their interest," Ghanwat told news agency ANI.
Also Read: Supreme Court stays implementation of farm laws, forms 4-member committee
SC on Tuesday, after putting a stay on the farm laws' implementation, formed a four-member panel to listen to grievances of the protesting farmers and the point of view of the government on the issue. The committee is to submit its report to the court on the same within two months.
"Several farmer leaders and unions want freedom from the monopoly of APMC, this need to be stopped and farmers should be given the freedom to sell their crop. This has been a demand for the last 40 years. Farmers who want MSP should get it and those who want freedom from it should also have an option," Ghanwat further said.
Also Read: Farmers say copies of new laws will be burnt on Lohri
Meanwhile, farmers' leaders rejected the committee formed by the SC on the grounds that all its members were 'pro-farm laws'. According to the farmers' leaders, the committee has been formed by the government through SC and all its members have supported the new legislation at one point or another.
However, according to Ghanwat, farmers' fears are not justified. "It is a total misconception. Ashok Gulati is not a political leader or even part of any group, he is an agricultural economist. I have been neutral on this, I have never worked for any political party but only in favour of farmers, and whatever happens in the coming days, we will try our best to get the issue resolved in favour of all farmers of the nation, not just for farmers of Maharashtra or Punjab," he said.
The other three members of the committee appointed by the top court are Bhupinder Singh Mann, President of Bharatiya Kisan Union's Mann faction, Pramod Kumar Joshi Director of International Food Policy Research Institute and agricultural economist Ashok Gulati.
(with ANI inputs)