EVEN AS the Government referred to as on all sides to “honour” the Supreme Court’s ruling on the brand new agriculture legal guidelines, there was a palpable sense of reduction throughout the institution and the ruling BJP, which had been determined to finish the statemate with out being seen as “anti-farmer”.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Commerce and Industry MoS Som Prakash mentioned: “The Supreme Court is the apex court of the land. All of us should honour its order. Be it the government or farmers, all of us should work for the progress of the country.”
Som Prakash is a part of the three-member ministerial committee, additionally comprising Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Power Minister Piyush Goyal, that’s holding talks with farm leaders. On Tuesday night, sources mentioned, Tomar “discussed the latest development” with the Ministry’s Secretary Sanjay Agarwal.
With the subsequent spherical of talks slated for January 15, the Government can be learnt to be taking authorized recommendation on the subsequent steps.
Meanwhile, sources within the ruling institution and get together described the court docket’s order as a “blessing” that “showed us a way out”. Several BJP leaders informed The Indian Express that if the farmers proceed to protest and block roads regardless of the order, they could lose public help.
“Although the court’s move is a bit embarrassing for the Government because of its aggressive position during the deadlock, this is perhaps the best way to get out of the crisis,” mentioned a senior BJP chief.
Acknowledging that the farm protests had been largely peaceable, which meant that the Government couldn’t take a very aggressive line, the chief mentioned: “There was no other way out. Without the court’s intervention, the Government could not have opted for the constitution of any such committee.”
Two key BJP leaders expressed hope that public sentiment would shift if the protesters didn’t settle for the court docket’s order.
“The Government kept negotiation channels open and offered compromises but the farmers did not budge. With incidents like what happened in Karnal (where protesters stormed a Kisan Panchayat) and the damage done to Jio towers in Punjab, it is clear that there are some unruly elements among the farmers. Now if they defy the Supreme Court’s attempt to find a solution, it will not go down well with the public,” mentioned one among them.
Government sources additionally hoped that those that insist on repealing the legal guidelines wouldn’t take such a tough line earlier than the committee arrange by the apex court docket.
However, a minimum of two senior get together leaders additionally expressed resentment over “judicial overreach”. “It’s probably for the first time that the court is staying laws that are already implemented… Even in the Ram Janmabhoomi case, the issue before the court was to give an order on the title suit. But the court also ordered the grant of land for the construction of a masjid,” mentioned one among them.
Drawing a parallel to the then Congress authorities’s transfer to strategy the Supreme Court to determine on the Ayodhya dispute after the Babri Masjid demolition, the chief mentioned: “This Government, too, did not have any other way out to resolve the issue.”
