Farm laws: SC-appointed committee to hold first meeting with farmers on Jan 21
- The panel members held a meeting on Tuesday at Pusa campus in New Delhi to decide the future course of action
- The Centre has postponed the tenth round of talks with the protesting farmers to 20 January
The Supreme Court-appointed committee on the three new farm laws has decided to hold its first meeting with farmers on 21 January, said panel member Anil Ghanwat on Tuesday.
"Physical meeting will be held with those organisations who want to meet us in person. Video conferencing will be held with those who can't come to us," Ghanwat added.
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Ghanwat further said that convincing farmers for a meeting is a challenge for the committee.
"If the government wants to come and speak with us, we welcome it. We will hear the government too. The biggest challenge is to convince the agitating farmers to come and speak with us. We will try our level best," he said.
The panel members held their first meeting on Tuesday at Pusa campus in New Delhi to decide the future course of action.
The apex court had on 11 January stayed the implementation of the contentious farm laws, against which several farmers' unions have been protesting at Delhi borders from 26 November last year.
A four-member committee was also constituted to resolve the impasse between the farmers and the central government.
The committee consisted of Bhartiya Kisan Union president Bhupinder Singh Mann, Anil Ghanwat, and agri-economists Ashok Gulati and Pramod Kumar Joshi.
However, shortly after this, Bhupinder Singh recused himself from the committee and said “I will always stand with my farmers and Punjab".
In a statement Thursday, 81-year-old Mann, a former Rajya Sabha member, said he was “thankful to Hon’ble Supreme Court of India for nominating" him to the committee.
“As a farmer myself and a Union leader, in view of the prevailing sentiments and apprehensions amongst the farm unions and the public in general, I am ready to sacrifice any position offered or given to me so as to not compromise the interests of Punjab and farmers of the country," he said.
Ghanwat said that if the apex court does not appoint a new member, the existing members will continue. He added that the committee has received the terms of reference and will begin its work from 21 January.
Tenth round of farmer-government meeting postponed
Meanwhile, the Centre has postponed the tenth round of talks with the protesting farmers to 20 January, informed the Union Agriculture Ministry on Monday. The meeting was earlier scheduled for Tuesday.
"The government's ministerial meeting with farmers unions will be held on January 20 at 2 pm at Vigyan Bhawan, instead of January 19," the minister said.
The previous meeting between the government and farmers have failed to reach a conclusive end, as protesting unions have stuck to their main demand for repealing the new laws, but the government has refused to do so.
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Business NewsNewsIndiaFarm laws: SC-appointed committee to hold first meeting with farmers on Jan 21
First Published:19 Jan 2021, 03:12 PM IST
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