SC-formed panel member Anil Ghanwat assures farmers; 'Will set aside personal views'

President of Maharashtra-based farmer organisation Shetkari Sanghatana Anil Ghanwat Anil Ghanwat who is also included in the four-member committee set-up by the Supreme Court to hold talks with the agitating farmers over the Centre's 3 contentious farm laws on Tuesday said that the protesting farmers will get justice. While speaking to news agency ANI in regards to this matter, Anil Ghanwat said, "this movement should stop somewhere and a law should be made in the interest of farmers."

President if Shetkari Sanghatana Anil Ghanwat said, "First we need to listen to farmers if they had some misconception about Minimum Support Price (MSP) and Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC), we will clear it, they need to be assured that whatever is happening is in their interest."

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Member of SC panel Anil Ghanwat: 'Farmers need to be assured'

Stating that several farmer leaders and unions want freedom from the monopoly of APMC, the SC panel member said that this need to be stopped and farmers should be given the freedom to sell their crops. Asserting that this has been a demand for the last 40 years, Ghanwat said that farmers who want MSP should get it and those who want freedom should also have an option."

Ghanwat said, "It is a total misconception. Ashok Gulati is not a political leader or even part of any group, he is an agricultural economist. I have been neutral on this, I have never worked for any political party but only in favour of farmers, and whatever happens in the coming days, we will try our best to get the issue resolved in favour of all farmers of the nation, not just for farmers of Maharashtra or Punjab."

Assuring that he will set aside his personal views, Ghanwat said that the agitating farmer union leader should work with the committee and express their views. He further said that the committee cannot start its work in the matter of ongoing farmers agitation until it receives guidelines form the Supreme Court. "As soon as it arrives, we will meet all the farmers and get their opinion of what they need and how it can be done," he added. 

Apart from Anil Ghanwat, the other members of the committee appointed by the apex court include Bhupinder Singh Mann, President of Bharatiya Kisan Union's Mann faction, Pramod Kumar Joshi Director of International Food Policy Research Institute and agricultural economist Ashok Gulati.

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This statement by the SC panel member Ghanwat comes after Supreme Court on Tuesday suspended the implementation of the three controversial farm laws until further orders and formed a four-member committee to hold talks and resolve the stand-off between the farmers and the Centre. The farmers have claimed that the panel members are already pro the farm laws.

Supreme Court stays implementation of 3 farm laws

Besides suspending the implementation of the farm bills until further orders, the top court also issued a notice to farmers' unions on the Delhi Police's application filed seeking to stop the proposed tractor rally on Republic Day. On the centre's assertion that Khalistani elements had infiltrated the farmers' protest, it also asked the government of India to file an affidavit on the same by Wednesday.

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