How is the committee made for farmers: All the four members were supporters of the new agricultural laws, out of which 2 farmers are leaders and 2 experts

The Supreme Court has constituted a four-member committee to negotiate agricultural laws and resolve the issue. Among them, Ashok Gulati and Dr. Pramod K. Joshi are agricultural economists, while Bhupinder Singh Mann and Anil Ghanwat are farmer leaders. All four have considerable experience in this sector. The old articles and interviews of the four members show that they have been in favor of agricultural laws. We understand about these four…

1. Ashok Gulati, Agricultural Economist

He said- these laws will give farmers more options and freedom

Ashok Gulati is an agricultural economist. He is currently a professor at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). He is a member of the Agriculture Task Force formed by the Prime Minister under the NITI Aayog and chairman of the Expert Panel on Agricultural Market Reforms. They have been describing agricultural legislation as beneficial for farmers. In his article in the Indian Express in September last year, he wrote - 'These laws will give farmers more options and freedom.' Gulati has played a key role in raising the Minimum Support Prize (MSP) of many crops.

2. Dr. Pramod K. Joshi, Agricultural Economist

He said - Farmers will not be harmed by these laws.

Dr. Pramod Joshi is also an agricultural economist. He is currently the director of the South Asia International Food Policy Research Institute. He has received several awards for his work in the agricultural sector. In his article in Financial Express in 2017, he described contract farming as beneficial for farmers. Agricultural laws were being enacted then. Joshi had written - Due to these laws, the farmers will not suffer loss due to fluctuations in the prices of crops and their risk will be reduced.

3. Bhupinder Singh Mann, Chairman, All India Farmers Coordination Committee

Their committee supported the agricultural laws

Sardar Bhupinder Singh Mann, born on 15 September 1939 in Gujranwala (now in Pakistan), has always worked for farmers. Because of this, the President nominated him to the Rajya Sabha in 1990. He is also the chairman of the All India Farmers Coordination Committee. Mann has some objections to agricultural laws. His committee wrote a letter to Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on 14 December. In this, he supported the agricultural laws with some objections. The letter wrote, 'Today we have come forward to support the government in favor of those laws which have been passed under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to free India's agricultural system.'

4. Anil Ghanvat, President, Shetkari Sangathan

He said that these laws will increase investment in villages

Anil Ghanwat is the president of Shetkari Sangathan, a large farmers' organization in Maharashtra. This organization was formed in 1979 by elder farmer leader Sharad Joshi. It was only in 1979 that a group of farmers blocked the Pune-Nashik highway to fix higher onion prices. This group was led by Ghanvat. In 2018, Ghanvat sowed HT Bt cotton seeds in Akola, leading more than a thousand farmers, while the government banned these seeds.

Ghanvat says that with the introduction of these laws, investment in building cold storage and warehouses in villages will increase. If under the pressure of two states (Punjab and Haryana), these laws are withdrawn, then this will close the path of open market for farmers. He described the farmers' movement in Delhi as being politically motivated and provoking the opposition.