NCP targets PM over Pawar reference,asks is he fooling people?

Prime Minister Narendra Modishould understand the difference between a model act and thethree new agri laws, the NCP said on Monday, hours after thePM cited former Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar'ssupport for farm reforms to buttress his point on the U-turnby the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.

NCP's national spokesperson and Maharashtra minorityaffairs minister Nawab Malik also said the Sharad Pawar-ledparty was not against reforms, but demanded a repeal of thethree contentious agri marketing laws.

Citing Sharad Pawar's support for agriculture reformswhen he was agriculture minister, Modi said in Rajya Sabha,''Those taking a U-turn will perhaps agree with him (ex-PMManmohan Singh)...Whether they were able to do it or not, buteveryone has advocated that it should be done''.

Countering the PM, Malik said in a video statementthat Pawar had tried to build consensus for a model act whenhe was agriculture minister (in the Congress-led UPAgovernment from 2004 to 2014).

Malik said, on the other hand, the incumbent Centralgovernment came up with the three farm laws despiteagriculture being a subject in the Concurrent list.

''There is a big difference between a model act (thatthe UPA government had tried to introduce) and the currentfarm laws. Either Modi saheb is not getting this or he isgetting it, but is fooling the people,'' Malik alleged.

He said the PM should understand the differencebetween the newly-introduced agri laws and the model act.

''The NCP or any other party is not opposed to reforms.

But it is not right for the prime minister and the Centre topush the present laws while it was required to build upconsensus. Take people into confidence and change the presentacts. The government should withdraw the laws,'' Malik said.

He demanded the government take all Opposition partiesinto confidence whenever new reforms are to be introduced.

''The government should speak to farmers and frame lawswhich are acceptable to all,'' he added.

Thousands of farmers have been camping at Delhi'sborders since November demanding the repeal of three newagriculture laws that they say will end the minimum supportprice (MSP) based procurement of crops like wheat and paddy bythe government and usher in big corporates into the farmsector.

They have rejected the government's offer to suspendthe reforms for 18 months and have not joined talks after 11rounds of talks ended last month.