Centre decided to repeal farm laws with eye on polls: Sharad Pawar

NCP chief Sharad Pawar said the BJPled central government decided to withdraw three farm laws fearing backlash in upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab and hailed the protesting farmers saying their yearlong struggle against the legislations would not be forgottenHe also slammed the Centre for introducing the three farm bills and getting them passed in haste without any discussion and without taking state governments into confidenceTalking to reporters in the Chandrapur district of Maharashtra Pawar said When I was the agriculture minister for 10 years the issue of farm laws was raised in Parliament by the BJP which was in the opposition at that time I had made a commitment that farming is a state subject and hence we would not like to take any decision without taking states into confidence or without discussionI had personally taken a twoday meeting with agriculture ministers of all states as well as chief ministers held detailed discussions with them and noted down suggestions given by them Similarly opinions were also sought from agriculture universities in the country as well as from some farmers organisations We were about to start the process of making farm laws but the tenure of our government ended and the new dispensation came to power he saidPawar said that after coming to power in 2014 the BJP government introduced the three farm bills without discussion and without taking the state governments into confidence These bills were opposed by all the opposition parties in Parliament and its proceedings were stalled and walkouts were staged However the people in power insisted that they would continue with the bills and they were passed in haste he saidAs a reaction to it protests were held at various places in the country especially on Delhi borders in Haryana Punjab Rajasthan and western UP he said The farmers launched a struggle and sat on roads heading to Delhi without caring for the weather conditions the NCP supremo said adding It was not easy but the farmers without compromising on their problems held peaceful protests together We were also in touch with them We salute their struggleIt is good that the contentious three farm laws have been withdrawn but the struggle that the farmers had to go through wont forgottenUltimately as UP and Punjab elections came closer and particularly when the BJP people saw the reaction of farmers in the villages of Haryana and Punjab and some other states They could not ignore this aspect and keeping in mind the upcoming elections they decided to withdraw the three farm laws he said Although what has happened is good we cannot forget that this government created a scenario wherein farmers had to put up a struggle for one year Pawar addedAlso Read Centre should take other parties in confidence to avoid such embarrassment Maha CM on repeal of farm lawsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever