NCP leader Sharad Pawar, who supports farmers who are opposing agricultural laws, is scheduled to meet President Ram Nath Govind on December 9 on the same issue. Surprisingly, Pawar advocated free market while being the agriculture minister in the UPA government. For this, he had also written letters to the Chief Ministers of several states to amend the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act, so that private sector participation in agriculture would be increased.
It was a matter of change then
Government sources said that while being the Minister of Agriculture, the reforms that Pawar had talked about in the APMC Act, the Modi government has made the same changes in the new agricultural laws. In a 2010 letter to the then Chief Minister of Delhi Sheila Dikshit, Pawar had said that the agricultural sector needs well-functioning markets to promote growth, employment and economic prosperity in rural areas.
Private sector participation was important
In a letter to the Chief Ministers, calling for an amendment to the APMC Act, Pawar had said that huge investments are needed to improve basic market infrastructure including cold chains. For this private sector participation is necessary, for which it is necessary to create appropriate regulatory and policy environment.
It was said that the need for amendment in APMC law
A similar letter was also written by Pawar to the then Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chauhan. He had said that the current APMC Act needs to be amended to encourage the private sector to invest in marketing infrastructure and provide alternatives. This will increase market competition, which will be beneficial for farmers, consumers and agricultural trade.
Why are you protesting now
Please tell that in the UPA government led by Manmohan Singh, Pawar was also the Minister of Public Distribution, Consumer Affairs and Food along with Agriculture Minister. In such a situation, when the NCP has supported the call of farmers of Bharat Bandh on 8 December. The question arises that why are Pawar opposing the agricultural laws that he advocated.
BJP leader raised questions on farmer organizations
BJP General Secretary BL Santosh has also questioned farmers’ organizations opposing the agricultural laws. While tweeting the news published in an English daily in 2008, Santosh said that at that time farmer organizations had sought to give permission to big companies to participate in the purchase of wheat.
He tweeted that in 2008 farmers in Punjab and Haryana were advocating allowing big companies to join the field of agricultural marketing. Today these farmers’ organizations are opposing it. In such a situation, the double standards of these farmer organizations can be understood.
