Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Sunday expressed dismay over Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar’s tweets criticising the farm laws, saying they had been a mixture of “ignorance and misinformation” concerning the laws, and hoped that the veteran chief will change his stand after realizing the “information”.
In a collection of tweets, Pawar had on Saturday mentioned the brand new agriculture laws of the Union authorities will adversely impression the Minimum Support Price procurement and weaken the ‘Mandi’ system.
The tweets by Pawar — who because the agriculture minister in the course of the United Progressive Alliance interval had pitched for these reforms — got here at a time when talks between the Centre and the 41 protesting farmers’ unions have reached a impasse.
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Responding to the NCP chief’s remarks, Tomar mentioned Pawar, who’s a veteran chief, can also be thought-about well-versed with the problems and options regarding agriculture. “Pawar himself tried arduous to deliver the identical agriculture reforms earlier.”
“Since he speaks with some expertise and experience on the difficulty, it was dismaying to see his tweets make use of a mixture of ignorance and misinformation on the agriculture reforms. Let me take this chance to current some information,” Tomar mentioned on Twitter.
The minister countered Pawar’s tweet which mentioned that the amended Essential Commodities Act “could result in apprehensions that corporates could buy commodities at decrease charges and stockpile and promote at greater costs to customers.”
“The apprehension has no foundation. Under the EC Act, the central authorities can intervene in case of extraordinary circumstances together with warfare, famine, extraordinary worth rise and pure calamities of grave nature,” Tomar mentioned.
He mentioned the brand new laws encourage further selection channels for farmers as they will promote their produce to anybody, wherever with a hassle- free motion in and outdoors the state to grasp a aggressive and higher web worth for his or her produce.
“This does not have an effect on the present MSP (minimal assist worth) system,” he added.
Under the brand new ecosystem, the minister mentioned, the mandis should not affected. Instead, they are going to be extra aggressive and cost-effective by way of companies and infrastructure; and each the programs will synergistically co-exist for the frequent curiosity of farmers.
Tomar mentioned: “As he (Pawar) is such a veteran chief, I wish to consider that he was genuinely misinformed of the information. Now that he has the appropriate information, I hope he may also change his stand and in addition clarify the advantages to our farmers.”
Pawar, in his tweets on January 30, had expressed concern over the elimination of inventory limits on meals commodities below the amended EC Act.
“Stock piling limits have been eliminated on meals grain, pulses, onion, potato, oilseeds and so on. It could result in apprehensions that Corporates could buy commodities at decrease charges and inventory pile and promote at greater costs to customers,” he had tweeted.
The NCP chief additionally mentioned that reform is a steady course of and nobody would argue in opposition to the reforms within the APMCs or Mandi System.
“A optimistic argument on the identical doesn’t imply that it’s executed to weaken or demolish the system,” he famous.
The authorities has supplied some concessions together with preserving the brand new farm laws on maintain for 1-1.5 years and the Supreme Court has arrange a panel to look into the matter preserving the contentious laws in abeyance for 2 months.
However, the agitating farmers’ unions have rejected each and intensified their over two-month-long agitation on the borders of the nationwide capital.
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