Five-member opposition group to meet President on farm laws

NEW DELHI: A five-member delegation of political leaders comprising Congress’

s Rahul Gandhi

,

NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar

, Left’s

Sitaram Yechury

and

D Raja

and DMK MP T K S Elangovan will meet President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday evening to seek his intervention in resolving the impasse between the government and farmers protesting against the new agri laws.

Nearly 18 political parties, including former NDA partners like SAD, have pledged support to the farmer protests against the three reform measures that seek to increase participation of private trade, facilitate contract farming and set terms for imposing stock limits. The delegation to meet Kovind, however, will be a smaller group in light of coronavirus-related restrictions on the size of delegation. The five parties were part of the 11 that signed a statement supporting the stir, which is led mostly by Punjab unions with some from Haryana and west UP.

Sources said Rahul and the other leaders are expected to meet at Pawar’s residence to firm up points of discussion on the farm laws before they meet the President. It is also possible that the leaders will put forward their demand for a session of Parliament to discuss the farm issues, as has been demanded by some Congress leaders.

Though largely symbolic, the meeting of political leaders with the President is seen as the opposition raising the profile of its opposition to the farm laws. This will also be the second time in three months that political parties will meet the President to oppose legislations. In September, leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad had met Kovind to register the opposition’s concerns over the manner in which the farm bills were passed in both Houses of Parliament.

In his meeting with Kovind, Azad had asserted that the President, as the custodian of the Constitution, should not give presidential assent to bills passed by Parliament in an “undemocratic” fashion, and without listening to the voice of opposition parties.