These four have Responsibility of resolving the farmers-government fight, what is their background and opinion on agricultural laws?

Amid the Protest of the farmers against the agricultural laws, the Supreme Court gave a big verdict. The Court set up a committee to implement the agricultural laws and look into the grievances of the farmers. The members of the committee will be Bhupendra Singh Mann, president of Bharatiya Kisan Union, Anil Ghanwant of Shetkari organization, agricultural scientist Ashok Gulati and Dr. Pramod Joshi of International Food Policy Research Institute. Let us know what is the background of these four people and what is their thinking on agricultural laws?

Bhupindra Singh Mann

Sardar Bhupinder Singh Mann, born on 15 September 1939 in Gujranwala (now in Pakistan), was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 1990 by the Honorable President of India for his contribution to the farmer’s struggle. He served from 1990-1996. His father S. Anoop Singh was a prominent zamindar of the area.

Opinion on agricultural laws- Bhupinder Singh Mann and his organization are continuously opposing the agricultural laws. They demand that the agricultural laws be withdrawn.

Ashok Gulati

Ashok Gulati is an Indian economist and former chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). The CACP is the advisory body of the Government of India on food supply and pricing policies. Gulati played a key role in increasing the minimum support price for many food grains. He is currently the Chairman of Infosys for Agriculture in the Indian Council of Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). He is also a member of the Task Force on Agricultural Work set by the Prime Minister under the NITI Aayog and Chairman of the Expert Group on Agricultural Market Reforms (2015). He was an active member of the high-level committee set up by the NDA government to restructure and revive the Food Corporation of India to improve its operational and financial efficiency.

Opinion on agricultural laws – Ashok Gulati had said in an interview to the Times of India that farmers will benefit from agricultural laws. But the government could not explain this to the farmers.

Dr. Pramod Joshi

Dr. Pramod K. Joshi is the director of the South Asia International Food Policy Research Institute. Prior to this, he held the post of Director of National Agricultural Research Management Academy Hyderabad. His areas of research include technology policy, markets, and institutional economics. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the Indian Society of Agricultural Economics. Dr. Joshi has also served as the Chairman of the Governing Board of the SAARC Agriculture Center in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Anil Ghanwant

Anil Ghanwant belongs to the Shetkari organization. Farmer’s Organization Shetkari Sangathan was started by Late Sharad Joshi. Anil Ghanwant had said that the government can implement and amend the laws after consulting with the farmers.

Opinion on agricultural laws- Anil Ghanwant had said that there is no need to withdraw agricultural laws. This will open many opportunities for farmers.

Order to resolve issue in 40 days

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that a four-member committee is being given 40 days to resolve the issues of farmers protesting on the borders of Delhi. Chief Justice SA Bobde said, “We are withholding three agricultural laws till further orders.”

The farmers have been protesting since 26 November

Hundreds of agitating farmers from Punjab and Haryana have been camping on the borders of Delhi since 26 November. Eight rounds of negotiations have taken place between the Center and the farmer unions, but nothing has been achieved.