SC panel on farm laws to hold first meet on Jan 19: Ghanwat

The Supreme Courtappointed committee on the three new farm laws is scheduled to hold its first meeting on January 19 at Pusa campus here, its member Anil Ghanwat said on Sunday.

The Supreme Court had on January 11 stayed the implementation of the three laws, against which farmers are protesting at Delhi borders for over 50 days now, till further orders and appointed a four-member panel to resolve the impasse.

Bhartiya Kisan Union president Bhupinder Singh Mann, however, recused himself from the committee last week.

Apart from Ghanwat, agrieconomists Ashok Gulati and Pramod Kumar Joshi are the other panel members.

P“We are meeting on January 19 at the Pusa campus. Only members will meet to decide the future course of action,” Ghanwat, President of Shetkari Sanghatana (Maharashtra), told PTI.

“One of the four members has backed out of the committee. If the apex court does not appoint a new member, the existing members will continue,” he said.

The Supreme Court may take into account the matter of recusal of the member from the panel on Monday when it is scheduled to hear the pleas relating to the controversial farm laws and the farmers protests.

Ghanwat said the committee has received the terms of reference and will begin its work from January 21. He said, “We have no issue if a solution is found and the protests end from either our panel or from the government’s separate talks with the protesting farmer unions.”

“Let (Government) them continue the discussion, we have been given a duty and we will focus on that,” he added.

So far, the government has held nine rounds of formal talks with 41 farmer unions but has failed to break the logjam as the latter have stuck to their main demand of a complete repeal of the three Acts.

Let Govt continue the discussion, we have been given a duty and we will focus on that

ANIL GHANWAT, Sanghatana president

Shetkari