I welcome any initiative to improve conditions of farming in the country. Farmers are the backbone of our economy. Farming ordinances are not steps that would help the farmers of India. Rather than atmanirbhar, these farmers would now be beholden to private corporate houses 1/n We must remember that the agricultural ecosystem in India employs nearly half of all Indians. The swift moves to dismantle the APMCs in the middle of a global pandemic would worsen the unemployment in the country. 2/n

The unregulated sale of spurious liquor has led to the death of 112 people in Punjab till date. I have been calling for an investigation by a sitting High Court Justice since June, 2020. The Government of Punjab has ignored many calls for the same 1/n The liquor mafia has run rampant during the #COVID19 lockdown. Clearly there exists a nexus between different government agencies/police and the mafia, otherwise nearly three months after the CM promised strict action, people would not be dying 2/n

The tragic death of 45 people due to spurious liquor in Punjab deeply saddens and troubles me. There is a pattern of such incidents which are damaging the public's faith in the administration of Punjab 1/n It is imperative that @PunjabGovtIndia acts proactively on this manner immediately. A sitting High Court Justice should investigate the liquor mafia in the State and submit a report within 30 days. 2/n

The attempt to cap & seal damaged gas well at Baghjan Oil Field failed. For 66 days well has been spewing gas & it has been almost 2 months since it exploded. This environmental disaster is a sign that we need more environmental scrutiny on these projects @PrakashJavdekar ji. 1/n The GoI must not risk our environmental safety for the ease of doing business. I welcome the steps taken by the GoI that you shared with the BRICS nations yesterday @PrakashJavdekar ji to ensure that the Paris Accords goals are met. 2/n

New EIA Draft has reduced penalty for failure to follow environmental standards, the time available for violation hearings & further limited scope of public hearing. These dilutions of present rules favour projects that violate rules & operate without environmental clearance. 1/n Due to extensive urbanisation, India is slated to face issues such as water scarcity and increased levels of air pollution. The country requires strong laws to deal with the crisis in progress, not laws that help dilute the safeguards. 2/n

Cancellation of examinations help in avoiding the extended uncertainty created by repeated postponements. The revised UGC Guidelines that make examinations mandatory have done the exact opposite and resulted in tremendous distress. Examinations treat all examinees as equal, but by floating a mixed test policy the UGC is creating divisions amongst students on the basis of their access to online modes of learning, or lack thereof.

I urge you to reconsider the move to privatize the rail network in India.@PiyushGoyal ji. Indian Railways is a social good that is accessible to millions of Indians, both rich and poor. 1/n By attempting to privatize it and move away from the sector, GoI is essentially giving away one of our best tools for social mobility to the private sphere who’s intent is profit. This could potentially lead to tickets becoming unaffordable to the common man 2/n

The recent move to auction 41 coal blocks in eco-sensitive areas is a recipe for disaster.@PrakashJavdekar ji. India must take its place as the global leader in environmental protection. This decision taken after two major cyclones in the last month is uncalled for 1/4 Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, India must not fall into the same failed decisions made by other nations that has left our environment a worse place than any previous generation before has had to rebuild from. We must do better in protecting the environment 2/4

On #WorldEnvironmentDay, let us take a moment to look at events of 2020 here in India,which showcase the state of our environment. I do hope @PrakashJavdekar ji will give this twitter thread a patient reading, & act upon it, given his recent public positions on animal welfare 1/n On January 16th of this year, the @moefcc put out a notification that Oil and Gas exploration projects are now B2 category projects under the EIA Rules of 2006. A B2 project in essence exempts the project from holding public consultations 2/n