President Ram Nath Kovind on September 27 gave his assent to all the three contentious farm bills, which opposition parties say are anti-farmer & corporate-friendly. These bills were recently passed by Parliament during its monsoon session amid vehement protests. Immediately after the notification was issued, Congress MP from Kerala T N Prathapan said that he would file a petition in the Supreme Court on September 28 against the Bills. The three bills - The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Service Bill, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020 - have now become acts. The government, which has said that these landmark legislations will make farmers self-reliant, has notified them. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) even pulled out of the BJP led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition at the Centre over the passage of the contentious farm bills, which the Punjab-based party said were “lethal and disastrous”. Meanwhile in Maharashtra, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar met the Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on September 27.Both Pawar & Thackeray reportedly discussed about the controversial farm bills, whether these farm laws should be implemented in the state or not. Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar said farmers, as well as the NCP and other parties, are opposed to the new bills. Farmers, especially in Punjab and Haryana, have been protesting against the bills and have said the Centre’s farm reforms would pave a way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the “mercy” of big companies. PM Modi had, in fact, referred to the passage of the Bills as a “watershed moment” in the history of Indian agriculture that will empower crores of farmers.
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