Maharashtra govt seeks people's advice on amended farm acts

The Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA government tabled in the state legislature an amended draft bill of the Centrersquos farms acts on Tuesday instead of repealing them as per the popular demand But it gave the public and farm activists two months to send in their suggestions and objections before the bill is taken up at the winter session of the state legislatureIn the house senior ministers from the MVA said the government was in support of the farmers who are protesting at the Delhi borders Agriculture Minister Dada Bhuse said the amendments proposed will ensure the farmersrsquo interest like minimum support price though the Centrersquos Act does not have any such provision He said the state acts provide for a threeyear jail term for those who cheat farmers and has stringent conditions for trading by making a government permit mandatory against the Centrersquos provision that anyone with a PAN card can purchase produce from farmersThe All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee and Samyukta Kisan Morcha that are part of the ongoing farmersrsquo agitation at the borders of Delhi had urged states to repeal the acts instead of amending themldquoMaking amendments to the draft of the central laws will not change the purpose behind the enactment of those laws nor will it change their antifarmer and corporate character Keeping in mind the expectations of farmersrsquo organisations the state government should not rush into enacting farm laws in the state on the lines of the Centrerdquo the committee had said in a statement last weekOn Tuesday the government responded partially It did not rush into passing the acts sought suggestions and objections and slammed the Centre but as suggested by some ministers did not pass a resolution condemning the CentreDemand for 3 cr vaccine doses per monthThen indirectly putting the onus on the Centre for Covid19 vaccination the state legislature passed a resolution albeit in the absence of the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP which held a mock house outside that it be sent 3 crore doses of vaccines per month so that it can complete the programme in three monthsHealth Minister Rajesh Tope said the state had the capacity of vaccinating 10 lakh per day and it has been at the top among all states ldquoMaharashtra has the highest number of Covid cases and deaths in the country The second wave is not over yet and the third is being predicted The only way to fight the infection is with a large scale and faster vaccination We can create herd immunity by vaccinating the maximum population We need more vaccines if there is a need to give jabs to children aged between 5 and 18 The Centre can help usrdquo he saidPatole alleges phone tappingState Congress president and MLA Nana Patole alleged that his phone was tapped during the previous BJP regime He said he was codenamed lsquoAmjad Khanrsquo by the tapping agency Home minister Dilip Walse Patil assured a probe in the matterShiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik also wanted the state to order a parallel probe in the charges the Enforcement Directorate is pursuing against him ldquoPlease inquire and tell the people the truth I havenrsquot done any scamrdquo he said A fortnight ago Sarnaik had written to the chief minister and his party boss that it would be good if the Sena patched up with the BJP which was troubling opponents using the Central agencies Clarifying later he told reporters that he wrote the letter because he felt alone in the MVAOpposition saysOpposition leader Devendra Fadnavis said the amendments made by the MVA were already accepted by the Centre for its acts ldquoWhy did they delay the process and create a false impression of these acts The Centre has been telling the state governments that there is no need of repealing the acts and it is ready to amend it It is satisfying that the Maharashtra government has accepted the Centrersquos stancerdquo