Farm reforms much-needed, repeal won’t help: SC panel

Under sharp attack from the protesting farmers’ unions for their “pro-government” public stand on the three contentious agricultural reform laws, members of a panel set up by the Supreme Court to resolve the crisis said on Tuesday they will “keep aside their own ideology and views” while consulting various stakeholders, even as they indicated a complete repeal won’t augur well for the muchneeded agriculture reforms.

After their first meeting at Delhi’s Pusa Agriculture University on Tuesday, a key panel member and president of the

Maharashtra-based Shetkari Sanghatana, Anil Ghanwat, said the farm sector reforms were much needed and no political party in the next 50 years would ever attempt them again if these laws were repealed.

He said the panel would listen to all farmers, including those supporting and those opposing the laws, and then prepare a report for the Supreme Court.

Noting their “biggest challenge” was to convince the protesting farmers to appear before the panel, Ghanwat said the first meeting with the stakeholders had been scheduled for Thursday. So far, nine rounds of talks have also taken place between the government and the agitating unions without any concrete resolution. The next round of talks between the farmers’ representatives and the Centre are now scheduled for 2 pm on Wednesday at New Delhi’s Vigyan Bhavan.

Ghanwat said the courtappointed committee had decided to listen to the views of the protesting unions on a priority basis, as it wants them to end their two-month agitation at Delhi’s borders at the earliest.

He also said, however, that the laws implemented over the last 70 years were not in the interests of farmers, and 4.5 lakh farmers have committed suicide.