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The government has said that it is looking at the possibility of re-examining the ordinance for uniform pricing of sugarcane.
The changes in the ordinance would put more responsibility on mill owners, it said.
The decision came after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's
intervention following massive protests against the new price offered
by the government to sugarcane farmers.
The PM held an emergency meeting with some of his top Cabinet
colleagues, including the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee,
Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Law Minister Veerappa Moily, to
sort out the crisis over the Centre's sugarcane policy announced in a
controversial ordinance. The meeting came just after the UPA government
was put on the mat by the Opposition in Parliament.
Other senior officials also took part in the meeting. The Advisor, Judicial Reforms, was specially called for the meeting.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar told NDTV that the
government is ready to discuss the ordinance in Parliament. "The date
will be fixed to discuss the sugarcane issue," he said.
While the new price came under attack inside the Lok Sabha, thousands of farmers protested outside, causing traffic jams.
Almost as soon as the Session began, BJP and RLD MPs marched to the
well of the House, shouting slogans and demanding the scrapping of the
Centre's sugar cane price policy, forcing the adjournment of Lok Sabha
till Friday.
The BJP has described the Centre's new sugarcane price as "way below the state
prices".
RLD leader Ajit Singh says no other government has brought such a black law against farmers as the UPA.
Expressing her concern for the farmers, Speaker Meira Kumar said the issue of prices should be discussed in the House. "I share concerns of the
leaders of sugarcane farmers," she said.
Thousands of sugarcane farmers from Meerut, Madhya Pradesh and
Uttarakhand today marched towards Parliament House from Jantar Mantar
where they had gathered.
They are protesting against the Centre's Fair and Remunerative Pricing
system for sugarcane, which is lower than the state prices that the
farmers got last year. |
