Amend farm laws to protect MSP, Maharashtra tells Centre
The Hindu
Three-party alliance has already expressed unwillingness to implement them per se
The Maharashtra government will write to the Centre asking it to introduce an amendment in the three controversial farm laws to ensure no farm produce will be purchased at rates below the minimum support price (MSP) at the Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMC). A Cabinet sub-committee formed to discuss the implementation of the laws, which are being opposed by farmers for last four months, held its first meeting on Tuesday headed by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. After the meeting, Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat told reporters, “These laws are anti-farmer. They do not guarantee MSP and we believe that it should be mentioned in the law. We discussed these amendments and further action will be taken to this effect.”A crowd comprising farmers, researchers, professors, students, and horticulture enthusiasts thronged the ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Hesaraghatta, Bengaluru, on Friday for the inaugural ceremony of the Triphal Diversity Show which showcased 300 mango, 100 jackfruit, and 100 banana genotypes in collaboration with ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana, Tiruchirappalli.
The State government on Friday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by Additional Director-General of Police, Manish Kharbikar of the Economic Offences division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to probe the alleged multi-crore scam in the government-run Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation.