SC-appointed panel on farm laws submits report
New Delhi, Mar 31: The Supreme Court-appointed committee to study the three new controversial agricultural laws has submitted its report to the apex court on March 19 in a sealed cover, one of its members said on Wednesday.
Farmers have been protesting seeking repeal of the three contentious farm laws on the borders of New Delhi for the past five months now. The Supreme Court had on January 11 stayed the implementation of the three laws till further orders and appointed a four-member panel to resolve the impasse.
The committee was given two months to study the laws and consult all stakeholders.
"We submitted the report on March 19 in a sealed cover. Now, the court will decide the future course of action," one of the members of the committee P K Mishra told PTI.
As per the committee's official website, the panel held total 12 rounds of consultations with various stakeholders, including farmers groups, farmer-producer organisations (FPOs) procurement agencies, professionals, academicians, private as well as state agriculture marketing boards.
The panel also held nine internal meetings before finalising the report.
Apart from Mishra, Shetkari Sanghatana President Anil Ghanwat and agri-economist and former chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) Ashok Gulati are other members of the panel.
The fourth member, Bhartiya Kisan Union President Bhupinder Singh Mann, had, however, recused himself from the committee before the work began.
Separately, while briefing Cabinet decisions, Food Minister Piyush Goyal said that while the new farm laws have been brought in the interest of farmers, it is a different issue "some people have misled farmers and tried to create a negative atmosphere".
However, farmers across the country now understand that the new farm laws do not take away the existing system of mandis, and provide more marketing options, he said.
Goyal also explained that the government's main concern when the new farm laws were passed in Parliament was how to increase farmers' income and what steps should be taken to open more avenues to ensure their income rises.
In the new farm laws, the government kept the existing option of selling farmers' produce in the APMC mandis intact and provided for other marketing options to ensure better returns to farmers besides creating jobs and attracting investment in the farm sector, he said.
While giving other marketing options, the government has carefully designed it to ensure farmers' land is protected and they do not sell their produce under compulsion for lesser price to a trader, he added.
Goyal was one of the central ministers who was present in the last 12 rounds of meetings held with protesting farmers' unions to end the impasse. In its last meeting on January 22, the government had offered to suspend the laws for 18 months which the protesting farmers have rejected.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
