Maharashtra stays contentious order implementing new farm laws

Under fire from all quarters the Maharashtra government on Wednesday stayed its own controversial order of August 10 implementing the three farm ordinances now laws that made it the first state in the country to enforce them officials said hereThese were The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce Promotion amp Facilitation Ordinance 2020 The Farmers Empowerment amp Protection Assurance and Farm Service Ordinance 2020 and The Essential Commodities Amendment Ordinance 2020 of June 5 2020 all now lawsAs per the August 10 order issued by the Director of Marketing Satish Soni these ordinances were to be strictly implemented even before the laws on it were passed by Parliament last week sparking massive protests among peasants all over IndiaThe development comes 48 hours after IANS first highlighted the contentious issue leading to a furore in political circles all over with the shellshocked ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA allies left gasping and fumingThe fast paced political circumstances leading to the stay order came after a Nationalist Congress Party NCP MLC Shashikant J Shinde challenged the Directorate of Marketing Punes orderAmong other things Shinde contended that the August 10 order was issued without taking any of the stakeholders into confidence including the APMCs farmers bodies labourers local officials and othersThe matter came up before the Marketing Minister Balasaheb Shamrao Patil who at a hearing this morning stayed the August 10 notification and posted the matter for further hearing October 27Welcoming the order Vasantrao Naik Sheti Swavlamban Mission VNSSM President Kishore Tiwari termed it a victory of the poor farmers in Maharashtra and the MVA allies Shiv SenaNCPCongress who are staunchly opposing the new farm lawsThis was done surreptitiously by two bureacrats Anoop Kumar and Satish Soni who deliberately misled the minister I have demanded Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to sack them both for working against the policies of the state government Tiwari who is accorded a Minister of State status told IANSLauding the state for the decision All India Kisan Sabha AIKS President Dr Ashok Dhawale said that the farm laws are detrimental to the interests of the farmers all over the countryThe AIKS welcomes the Maharashtra government move since the new farm laws are procorporate antifarmer and antifederal principles which trample on the states rights since agriculture is a state subject Dhawale told IANSAfter the matter was exposed on September 28 there was hectic politicking in the state among the three ruling allies as all have publicly opposed the new farm lawsOfficial sources said matters reached a stage where one of the allies reportedly threatened to boycott the CMs cabinet meeting and top leaders of another partner warned of resignations if a decision on the August 10 order was not taken by this eveningEven some leaders of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party hailing from farming backgrounds raised eyebrows at the notification especially since it had come even before the Centre issued any rules guidelines or framework on these ordinances and six weeks before the Bills were cleared by Parliament amid a huge ruckusThere was further embarrassment as Sena Agriculture Minister Dadaji D Bhuse had taken a public stance against the farm Bills the NCP Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said the new laws would not be implemented without the opinion of experts and Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi had asked all Congressruled states to work out viable options visavis the farm lawsIn fact the Congress has announced an allIndia agitation against the new farm laws and a majority of the oppositionruled states are likely to follow suitKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis 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