Addressing a huge crowd of farmers gathered at Mumbai's Azad Maidan on Monday, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar slammed Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari for not meeting farmers who have been protesting in solidarity with those sitting on agitation at Delhi borders for over two months.
The farmers had planned to submit a memorandum to Koshyari against the three farm laws passed by the Parliament in Septemeber last year. However, the Governor was in Goa, the state he holds additional charge of.
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Taking a dig at Koshyari, Pawar said the Governor should have come to Azad Maidan to the meet the farmers. "You are going to Raj Bhavan to meet the Governor. Maharashtra has never seen such a Governor before. He has the time to meet Kangana (Ranaut) but not the farmers. It was the moral responsibility of the Governor to come here and meet you," he said.
The veteran leader also attacked the Centre, raising questions over the prime minister's silence over the farmers' protest.
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"Braving cold weather, farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are agitating for the last 60 days. Has the PM enquired about them? Do these farmers belong to Pakistan?" Sharad Pawar asked.
The protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of Minimum Support Price and do away with the mandis, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.
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