Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has defended her government’s new contentious agricultural laws and claimed that they do not hurt farmers, The Indian Express reported on Monday. The legislation was passed in Parliament during the Monsoon Session amid protests by the Opposition. President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to them on Sunday evening.
Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Narendra Tomar had held consultations with all stakeholders such as farmers and other MPs before introducing them in Parliament, Sitharaman said, adding that Opposition parties were now doing a disservice by protesting against them. “I am not surprised, I am disappointed… because the extent to which consultations had happened… not just with the stakeholders… but MPs were asked for their views, farmers were asked for their views… Tomarji went through the whole…