Will work for non-implementation of new farm laws in Maha:Cong

The party said it has decided to hold a protest on October 2 against the new laws and a month-long awareness campaign. "We will work together and take a decision on non- implementation of the new farm laws in Maharashtra,"state Congress president and minister Balasaheb Thorat said during a press conference.

The Congress, which is part of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra, on Friday said it would work towards ensuring that the farm sector bills passed by the Parliament are not implemented in the state. The party said it has decided to hold a protest on October 2 against the new laws and a month-long awareness campaign.

"We will work together and take a decision on non- implementation of the new farm laws in Maharashtra,"state Congress president and minister Balasaheb Thorat said during a press conference. The party's state leaders will meet Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on September 28 over the issue, while on October 2, a state-wide 'dharna' agitation will be held, he added.

"Signature campaign of farmers will be organised between October 2 and 31. Similarly, farmers' conventions will be held during the period," Thorat said. The party's demand is to scrap the anti-farmer and anti-labour laws, the Revenue Minister said.

"The new laws aim to scrap the Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMCs). The government wants to demolish the APMC system and hand over the marketing system to traders. Due to this, farmers will not get the minimum support price (MSP). Even the labour protection laws are being scrapped," he alleged.

Maharashtra PWD Minister Ashok Chavan said the provisions of the new laws will benefit only the rich and the corporates. "Not just the Congress, but even BJP ally Shiromani Akali Dal has opposed and quit the government," he said.

The bills were passed without taking anyone into confidence and without discussion, he alleged. New AICC in-charge of the state, H K Patil, alleged, "Taking advantage of the prevailing coronavirus situation, the bills were passed for the benefit of corporates." "The government claims that the new laws give freedom to farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country. But farmers need support of the government. The bills were passed without consultations with even the farmers," he said.

Various farmer groups have called for a nationwide shutdown on Friday against the three bills, which were passed by both houses of Parliament during the Monsoon session and await presidential assent. The three bills are the Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)