Soon after the police in Buldhana arrested farmer Vasanta Muley …. for possessing [illegal] cotton seeds …. Shektari Sanghatana — the farmers’ body advocating use of genetically modified (GM) varieties — has …. fielded a lawyer for his defense.
Muley has now been booked [only] for possessing seeds from [an unlicensed] source. However, the Sanghatana assumes that he may eventually also face charges for possessing the genetically modified variety of herbicide tolerant (HT) cotton seeds …. The lawyer defending him is also a Shetkari Sanghatana member ….
The Sanghatana has plans to provide free legal services to every such farmer who would be arrested or booked in similar cases or for the use of HT seeds, said its president Anil Ghanavat.
The Sanghatana has initiated a campaign to press for legalizing HT seeds so that farmers can use the variety …. [I]ts members are openly sowing the illegal variety in the fields calling [it] a satyagraha or civil disobedience movement.
Read full, original article: Farmers’ body fields lawyer for arrested Buldhana ryot
