Shiv Sena Member of the Parliament (MP) Sanjay Raut, on Sunday, attacked the central government for treating the farmers protesting against the new agriculture laws as ‘terrorists’. He said it was really sad that the agitating farmers were not allowed to enter Delhi.
Raut strongly demanded that the central government should consider the farmers' demands sympathetically. “It is sad that they are not being allowed to come to Delhi and are being treated as if they are terrorists and have come from outside the country. The government should consider the demands of the farmers in a sympathetic manner,” he said.
Raut chose to target the central government after a large number of farmers, protesting against the three agriculture laws enacted by it, gathered at border points of the national capital as part of their 'Delhi Chalo' march. "Farm laws are one issue. Consider all the other demands sympathetically. Different states are not doing well. It is up to the central government to step in and help them,” he noted.
The Shiv Sena MP claimed that farmers were being dubbed as ‘divisive’ because most of them hail from Punjab. "Do you want to create instability by reminding the Punjab farmers of the Khalistan movement period?" he questioned the BJP.
Raut’s statement coincided with the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government’s decision to set up a cabinet sub-committee to examine various provisions of three agriculture laws with various stakeholders. The government also proposes to table its own legislation, making it binding on the trader to pay minimum support price (MSP) to the farmers and also a provision for a penal action if farmers do not get it.
The state government has deferred the implementation of three central government agriculture acts in Maharashtra till the cabinet sub-committee submits its recommendations.