“Their three Acts does not even mention APMC. They are just trying to divert the attention. There is no need to give importance,” the NCP chief said.
NCP chief and veteran Maharashtra leader Sharad Pawar today put out a clarification after allegations of “double standards” were raised by BJP citing some old letters by Mr Pawar as Union Agriculture Minister, where he had sought reforms in the farm sector was called out by the ruling BJP.
Mr Pawar, back then, had written to Chief Ministers like Sheila Dikshit (Delhi) and Shivraj Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh) asking them to amend the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act in their states.
“I had said that APMC needs some reforms. The APMC Act should continue but with reforms. There is no doubt that I had written the letter. But their three Acts does not even mention APMC. They are just trying to divert the attention. There is no need to give importance,” the NCP chief said.
Mr Pawar said a few opposition parties would take a collective stand and convey it to President Ram Nath Kovind.
“Tomorrow five-six people from different political parties are going to sit, discuss and take a collective stand…We have a 5 pm appointment tomorrow with the President. We will present our collective stand before him,” the former union minister added.
The BJP, after Pawar supported the ongoing farmers’ agitation, accused him of “double standards” as the letters were circulated online.
“Sharad Pawar is also opposing the new farm laws. But when he was agriculture minister, he wrote to all Chief Ministers for ‘private sector participation’ in market infrastructure,” Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
“The opposition parties are opposing the Narendra Modi government for the sake of opposition, forgetting their own work in the past. In its 2019 poll manifesto, Congress promised to repeal the APMC Act and make trade of agriculture produce, including export, free from all restrictions,” Mr Prasad further added.
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