SC must direct Centre to put farm laws on hold: All India Kisan Sabha

New Delhi [India], December 17 (ANI): The Supreme Court must direct the Central government to put on hold the three farm laws against which thousands of farmers are protesting at the borders of Delhi, All India Kisan Sabha President Ashok Dhawale said on Thursday.

"The Supreme Court must direct the government to put these three laws on hold and to immediately call a Parliament session to repeal these laws. After that, a committee can be formed for other things like minimum support price (MSP)," Dhawale told ANI here.

The remark comes after the Supreme Court, earlier today, asked the Central government to explore the possibility of putting the three farm laws on hold to facilitate talks.

Meanwhile, KV Biju, the National Coordinator of the Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh, one of the unions protesting at the Singhu border, said that they have decided to consult four senior Supreme Court lawyers.

"In our committee today, we took a decision about the case in the Supreme Court. We'll consult with four senior Supreme Court lawyers namely Prashant Bhushan, Dushyant Dave, HS Phoolka and Colin Gonsalves," Biju said.

During the hearing earlier today, the Supreme Court had observed that the protest is constitutional until it does not destroy property or endanger life and remarked that the purpose of the farmers' protest cannot be realised by demonstrating without engaging in discussions.

The bench also said it was considering setting up an impartial and independent committee that will hear both sides and submit its findings.

"We are thinking of an impartial and independent committee before whom both parties can give its side of the story. The committee will give a finding which should be followed. The protest can go on in the meanwhile and the protest cannot endanger life," a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde said.

This comes as thousands of farmers have been protesting at different borders of the national capital for over the past 20 days against three recently passed farm laws. While the Centre and the farmer leaders are engaged in talks, the discussions have remained inconclusive so far. (ANI)