Don't want to appear before any SC-appointed committee: Farmer leaders

A joint front of 40 agitating farmer unions on Monday welcomed the suggestion of the Supreme Court for a stay on the agri laws implementation but said they are not willing to participate in any proceedings before a committee that may be appointed by itPulling up the Centre for its handling of the farmers protest the apex court on Monday said it is ldquoextremely disappointedrdquo with the way negotiations between them were going and will constitute a committee headed by a former Chief Justice of India to resolve the impasseldquoWhile all organisations welcome the suggestions of the Supreme Court to stay the implementation of the farm laws they are collectively and individually not willing to participate in any proceedings before a committee that may be appointed by itrdquo a statement issued by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha saidldquoWe met our lawyers this evening and after deliberation on the pros and cons of the suggestions we informed them that we are unanimously not agreeable to go before any committee that may be appointed by the Supreme Court today due to the stubborn attitude of the governmentrdquo it readThe umbrella body said the apex court was requested by their lawyers and by other counsel including Harish Salve to fix the next hearing on Tuesday to enable them to consult the farmer unions and seek their consent to the suggestion of the SCldquoWe have been told that no such hearing has been fixed for tomorrow as per the cause list already published for tomorrow till 9 PM and that only the matters are listed for pronouncements for order by the court These events have deeply disappointed us our lawyers and also farmers at largerdquo the Morcha saidEarlier in the day farmer leaders said they would continue their agitation even if the government or the Supreme Court stays the implementation of the new agri lawsThe farmer leaders who said they were sharing their personal opinion were also of the view that a stay is not a solution as it is only for a fixed period of timeThey were reacting after the Supreme Court indicated that it may stay the implementation of the contentious farm laws and refused to grant more time to the Centre to explore the possibility of an amicable solution saying it has already granted the government a ldquolong roperdquoWe welcome the Supreme Court observation but ending the protest is not an option Any stay is only for a fixed period of time till the issue is taken up by the court again Haryana Bharatiya Kisan Union President Gurnam Singh Chaduni saidThe farmers want the laws to be repealed completely The protest will continue even if the government or the Supreme Court stays their implementation he saidNational spokesperson of Bhartiya Kisan Union BKU Rakesh Tikait said the Supreme Courts observations were a slap on the face of the central government and demanded the resignation of Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh TomarHe was addressing the national executive committee of BKU at UPgate Ghazipur borderBhog Singh Mansa president of Indian Farmers Union Mansa said a stay on the laws is no big dealA stay on the laws is not a solution We are here to get these laws scrapped completely the government has in a way already agreed to scrap the laws when it said it is willing to incorporate as many amendments as farmers want he saidWe appeal to the Supreme Court to terminate these laws as these are not valid constitutionally Mansa said adding the protest will continue till the laws are not repealed or the BJP government completes its tenurePunjab Kisan Union president Ruldu Singh Mansa echoed similar sentiments saying the agitation started with the demand of scrapping the agri laws and it will end only when we win this fightEight rounds of talks between the Centre and the farmer unions have failed to end the deadlock as the Centre ruled out repealing the contentious laws while the farmer leaders said their ghar waapsi will happen only after law waapsiThe apex court had earlier sought the Centres response on a batch of pleas against the three contentious farm laws the Farmers Empowerment and Protection Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce Promotion and Facilitation Act and the Essential Commodities Amendment ActHundreds of agitating farmers mainly from Punjab and Haryana have been camping on Delhis borders since November 26This 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