Farmers reject Supreme Court panel, stick to repeal of farm laws

Pal, a farmer leader said they had never sought the intervention of the apex court to resolve the impasse

Agitating farmers on Tuesday rejected the Supreme Court-appointed committee to break their deadlock over the farm laws with the Centre and stuck to their demand for complete rollback of the reforms.

The farmers welcomed the Supreme Court stay on the three farm laws, but insisted that it was not the solution they had been asking for as the implementation of the laws can be reinstated.

“We will not appear before any committee. Parliament should discuss and resolve the issue,” Darshan Pal, President of the Krantikari Kisan Union told reporters at the Singhu border.

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The farmers said the four-member committee constituted by the apex court was “not dependable” as they have been writing in favour of the farm laws and were pro-reforms.

The apex court had set up a committee comprising Bhupinder Singh Mann, President of Bhartiya Kisan Union, P K Joshi, Director for South Asia, International Food Policy Research Institute, Anil Ghanwat, President Shetkari Sanghatana, and agricultural economist Ashok Gulati.

“It is clear that the Court is being misguided by various forces even in its constitution of a committee. These are people who are known for their support to the three Acts and have actively advocated for the same,” Pal said.

The farmers also announced they would hold a “peaceful Kisan Parade” on Republic Day in Delhi as well as other parts of the country and step up protests in more states such as Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka.

Pal said the farmers would follow their protest calendar and burn the copies of the three laws on Wednesday to celebrate Lohri festival.

The farmer leader said they had never sought the intervention of the apex court to resolve the impasse over the laws and accused the Central government of charting a legal recourse.

The agitating farmers have held eight rounds of talks with the Modi government but have failed to break the deadlock over the three farm laws. The ninth round of talks is scheduled for Friday, January 15.

The farmer leaders said they would attend the January 15 meeting with Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar-led ministerial panel.

Thousands of farmers, mostly from Haryana and Punjab, have been protesting at the borders of the national capital for the last 49 days, demanding a repeal of the three laws and a legal guarantee to the minimum support price (MSP) system for their crops.