On Tuesday, the farmer union leaders have made it clear that the protests against the three farm laws will continue. The statement comes hours after the Supreme Court of India issued a stay order on the implementation of the three farm laws.
Bharatiya Kisan Union’s Balbir Singh Rajewal said that the farmers will not appear before any committee and alleges that the SC-appointed committee is pro-government. “We had said yesterday that the farmers will not appear before any committees. All members of this committee are pro-government and have been justifying the laws of the government,” Rajewal said during a press conference. He also added that the formation of the committee is to divert the attention from the farmers’ issue.
The BKU leader also said that the farm leaders never demanded the Supreme Court to constitute a committee. “The government is behind all this,” he alleged.
Rajewal made it clear that no one is leaving until the government repeals the three farm laws. “Seniors do not want to leave the protest site. No one will leave the site until the Centre repeals the three farm laws,” Rajewal said. Yesterday, the Chief Justice of India (CJI), AS Bobde requested the protesting elderly men and women farmers to return to their homes.
Apart from Rajewal, Krantikari Kisan Union leader Darshan Pal said that the farmers’ union will not accept any SC-appointed committee. “We informed last night that we would not accept any committee. We were confident that the central government would get a committee appointed by the SC to take the burden off their shoulders,” he said, adding that the farmers do not need an external committee.
The farmers will be attending the January 15 meeting with the Centre. If the government does not accept their demands during the meeting, the farmers will proceed with the January 26 tractor parade in Delhi.
Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court issued a stay order on the implementation of three farm laws. While issuing the stay order, Chief Justice Bobde also appointed a committee comprising to solve the farmers’ issues. The committee consists of HS Mann, Ashok Gulati, Anil Dhanwat and Pramod Kumar Joshi to study the farm laws. The committee will inspect the farm laws, receive responses from both the government and the farmers and report to the Court on the three laws. The Court will then decide as to what must be done with the three laws. The SC has also asked the farmers to cooperate and approach the committee with their issues.
The Court has said that it wants to solve the problem. “We are looking to solve the problem. If the farmers want to agitate, they can continue to do so. All those who want to solve the issue should go before the committee. It will submit a report to us,” the Court said, adding that this is not politics and there is difference between politics and judiciary.
Meanwhile, the Chief Justice also asked Attorney General KK Venugopal about a banned organization (Khalistanis) infiltrating the farmers’ protest. “There is an application before us stating that there is a banned organization which is helping this protests. Can the AG accept or deny it,” the CJI asked.
“We have said that Khalistanis have infiltrated the protests,” the AG replied.
The CJI directed Venugopal to file an affidavit by tomorrow, confirming the allegation about the banned organization.