The Delhi government has notified one of the three central farm laws.
New Delhi:
The Delhi government has notified one of the three central farm laws and is examining the remaining two, officials said on Tuesday.
The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020 was notified on November 23, said a senior Delhi government official.
“The remaining two laws are under examination by the development department of the Delhi government,” he said.
The ruling AAP said the notification allows farmers to sell their crop anywhere, including outside mandis. Selling of fruits and vegetables was already de-regulated in Delhi many years ago; now this holds for grains too, it said.
The party has openly supported the farmers demands to scrap the laws. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had also demanded withdrawing of the laws in a protest by AAP at Jantar Mantar last month.
Officials said that vegetables and fruits were deregulated in 2014 enabling trading beyond agricultural produce marketing committee managed mandis. The notified law adds foodgrains and poultry to the list, they said.
Opposition BJP and Congress attacked the AAP for its support to the farmers agitation while notifying the farm law.
“The notification exposes duplicacy of AAP and the Kejriwal government. They want to share the benefits of the new farm laws while misguiding the farmers,” charged BJP MP and former Delhi unit president Manoj Tiwari.
The AAP hit back at the BJP over the issue saying it was trying to divert attention of people from the nationwide protest by the farmers.
“BJP is clueless about how to handle the nationwide protest by farmers and is therefore hopelessly trying to divert attention of the public,” it said in a statement.
The mandis have not been dismantled and they are continuing. Farmers demand is that they should get MSP (minimum support price) whether inside or outside mandi which AAP supports, added the statement.
