Maha: Farmer body urges MVA govt to take a stand to repeal Centre’s farm laws

PTI, Jul 3, 2021, 7:18 PM IST

Mumbai: The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee’s (AIKSCC) Maharashtra unit on Saturday appealed to the state government to take an unequivocal stand to repeal the Centre’s three farm laws. The three parties, the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government have expressed support for the farmers” movement, and now that the fight against these laws has come to a decisive turn, the government needs to take a firm and clear stand by passing a resolution against the Acts in the state legislature, AIKSCC said in a statement.

The state unit of the all India farmer body said the laws are a step towards corporatisation of agriculture, and companies have come up with a comprehensive strategy to make this opportunity a reality. “The central farm Acts that were introduced under the guise of breaking the shackles of capitalism, are in fact, a deliberate attempt to remove obstacles in the way of corporates. This will create a monopoly of corporates in the agricultural sector, giving them unlimited power to command the prices of commodities and to deny protection to farmers,” the AIKSCC Maharashtra claimed in the statement.

While the state government is trying to bring new farm laws in Maharashtra by making some changes to the controversial Acts, amendments to the draft of the Central laws will not change the purpose behind them, nor will it change their anti-farmer and pro-corporate character, the farmers” organisation said. In the interest of farmers in the state, the AIKSCC Maharashtra demanded that the state government take an unequivocal stand that the three disputed farm laws be repealed and a resolution to give a fair guarantee to agricultural commodities be passed in the state Assembly.

Scores of farmers have been camping at Delhi”s borders since November last year demanding that the Farmers” Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; Farmers” (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 be rolled back and a new law made to guarantee minimum support price (MSP) for their crops.